Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has told an Accra High Court that he was recently served court papers by a fake bailiff.
The papers in question were a restraining order and a defamation suit by Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, alias Victor Kusi Boateng, secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral.
Ablakwa’s allegations were contained in an 85-page document opposing a contempt suit Adu Gyamfi brought against the lawmaker for rejecting service of the two suits and disrespecting the court by kicking the documents.
In Ablakwa’s filings for the case, his lawyers, Sory @ Law, attached an exhibit that contained an Application for Search Report seeking information on the bailiff who served Ablakwa the papers earlier this month.
The court registry confirmed that Adu Gyamfi had indeed instituted the two applications served on Ablakwa on 1st and 3rd of February.
It gave the name of the bailiff who served the application on Ablakwa as Ellis Armah but answered “NO” to a question about whether Ellis was a bailiff of the Judicial Service.
There was no further explanation as to why a bailiff outside of the Judicial Service had been given papers to serve on the respondent.
Ablakwa’s lawyers also referred to a recent order by the Chief Justice asking that only certified bailiffs be dispatched to work on service of applications.
Ghanaian singer and LGBTQ activist, Deborah Vanessa, popularly known as Sister Derby has disclosed that she is not a lesbian although she has been an ally of the queer community for years.
Derby, in an interview with Sika Osei on Lynx TV, lamented how a section of Ghanaians have stood against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people, with others pushing for the criminalization of their activities in Ghana and parts of the African continent.
“How is a queer person supposed to feel because that is how they were born…I am an ally not part of the community…my father who is a pastor hasn’t commented on me supporting the queer community. The only thing he commented on was ‘Uncle Obama’ and I said to him that if a 6-year-old listened to it, they wouldn’t think the way he is thinking…he is fine. My Dad is a cool person who understands,” she explained.
Derby also set the records straight about her sexuality and announced that she doesn’t have feelings for women.
According to the ‘Kakalika Love’ crooner, rumours of her sexuality heightened after she featured on ‘Wo Fie’ a song by Angel Maxine which advocated LGBTQ rights.
“Once you are not, you are not. The thing about being gay is not all about sex. People just brand it with sex, it is not like that…I admire women but don’t have feelings…I don’t have feelings for the same sex,” she hammered in the interview monitored by GhanaWeb.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, has disclosed that talks are underway with China over Ghana’s debt following a successful domestic debt exchange programme.
Mr Ofori-Atta said negotiations with China are important because they hold the majority of the external bonds.
Speaking with Citi News, the Finance Minister said he will lead a delegation to China to plead for debt cancellation.
“The big elephant in the room is China, we will be visiting China by the end of the week to really discuss how they come into the envelope as quickly as possible. So we are looking at that support from them. China represents about a third of the $5.7 billion loan and so it is important that we engage them.”
In January 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is working towards a debt cancellation programme for Ghana and other countries amid a global economic recession scare this year.
The other countries are Ethiopia, Zambia, Chad, Lebanon, Surinam, and Sri Lanka.
The move, Madam Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF Managing Director, said was to avert any “bad surprise” on the global economy, out of which 25 percent had its trade in emerging markets territories.
“We’re working hard to press for debt resolution for these countries, and we’ve engaged with the traditional creditors, the Paris Club, the non-traditional creditors, China, India, and Saudi Arabia. Our call is very simple: Urgently we have to act,” she said in an interview.
The Minority in Parliament has proposed a merger of 4 ministries as a cost cutting measure.
The NDC MPs want Ministry of Information added to that of Communications, Railways Development to that of Transport, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs collapsed into Tourism and Creative Arts and Sanitation and Water Resources merged with Local Government.
Addressing the media in Parliament, Minority leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson assured a directive from the party for the nominees to be rejected will be adhered to, to the letter.
In a sharp reaction, the Majority has described as disappointing the position of the Minority.
Speaking to the media, Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin argued the directive of the NDC to its MPs is unconstitutional.
He questioned why the Minority members of the appointments committee are joining the vetting process despite their reservations.
Ten days after a deadly earthquake hit areas of Turkey and Syria, at least three additional people—including two minors—have miraculously been recovered from the wreckage.
Ten days after the tragedy, rescue efforts are shifting to recovery activities, and 17-year-old Aleyna lmez has been called the “miracle girl” after being rescued alive from the wreckage in Turkey on Thursday, 248 hours after the earthquake on February 6.
Neslihan Kilic, 30, and Osman, a 12-year-old kid who informed rescuers that there were additional persons buried nearby, were eventually rescued after her.
At least 43,885 people have died across Turkey and neighboring Syria following the powerful 7.8 magnitude quake, according to authorities. Efforts to retrieve survivors have been hampered by a cold winter spell across quake-stricken regions, while authorities grapple with the logistical challenges of transporting aid into northwestern Syria amid an acute humanitarian crisis compounded by years of political strife.
Amid recriminations in Turkey over the scale of damage, at least 54 people have been arrested in the country in connection with buildings that were destroyed or damaged from the earthquake, according to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ on Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced an appeal for $1 billion in aid towards earthquake relief efforts in Turkey over the course of three months. It came two days after the UN launched a flash appeal for $397 million in earthquake aid for Syria, also covering a three-month period as humanitarian bodies stress the need for psychological and mental health services in the affected regions.
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Aleyna Olmez is rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed apartment in Kahramanmaras in southern Turkey, on February 16, 2023.Mehmet Kaman/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Turkey’s state news channel TRT Haber crew visited teenager Aleyna Ölmez in the hospital room after the rescue operation and talked to her and her doctors and family members. Speaking from her hospital bed, TRT Haber cameras showed Aleyna’s eyes open, her body covered up to her neck, and tubes inserted for oxygen supplements.
Alyena was taken directly to Kahramanmaraş Sutcu Imam University Faculty of Medicine after the rescue operation on Thursday.
A video showed Aleyna’s aunt and grandmother next to her bedside, touching her face and kissing her hands. When the TRT Haber correspondent reached out to Aleyna with a microphone asking how she was doing, Aleyna shook her head and smiled.
Rescue team miners gather after Aleyna Olmez, dubbed the “miracle girl,” was pulled alive from the rubble on Thursday in southern Turkey.Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images
Aleyna’s doctor Prof. Dilber said he was very surprised by Aleyna’s good health condition and told TRT Haber: “She couldn’t eat anything and drank nothing the whole time (when she was under the rubble), but she was still in a good condition.”
Dr. Dilber added that “since she couldn’t move under the rubble at all, we could say that her inactivity has protected Aleyna a little and she needed energy and she has endured during this time, but I guess we can’t explain it that way.”
Children orphaned by the quake in Turkey and Syria face an uncertain future
The moment Aleyna was brought into the hospital, she was conscious and talking to the doctors. “We have made the necessary interventions. Body imaging was done, and blood tests were taken. She was in a very good condition,” Dr. Dilber told TRT Haber.
“There was no hypothermia. Blood tests also showed very good kidney functions. Muscle enzymes weren’t too high. Fluid therapy started immediately. After the fluid therapy, Aleyna still spoke to us very well,” he added.
Hacer Atlas, a member of the search and rescue team who saved the young quake victim told Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu that they were able to reach Aleyna after long and tiring efforts.
“First we held her hand, then we took her out. She is in very good condition, and she can communicate. I hope we will continue to receive good news about her,” Atlas said about the moment when they found Aleyna.
TRT Haber reported later that Aleyna was brought to the Turkish capital of Ankara by plane.
Kilic, the 30-year-old woman who was rescued on Thursday, 258 hours after the quake, was also found in Kahramanmaras, where she and her family used to live on the seventh floor of the Ebrar apartment complex, according to her brother-in-law Gazi Yildirim.
Yildirim told CNN Turk that her husband and two children – two and five years old – were still under the rubble.
Despite the violence of the earthquake and the long wait to be rescued, Kilic was able to talk and tell rescuers her name when they pulled her out of the rubble, he said.
Yildirim started crying when he told the CNN Turk reporter that they had already prepared Kilic’s grave.
“May Allah save others. She has two children and a husband who is still under the rubble,” Yildirim said.
Hours later, a 12-year-old boy named Osman was also rescued in southern Hatay province.
According to CNN Turk, Osman too appeared to be in relatively good condition, and was found in a sitting position in a hole surrounded by the beams and rubble. He was taken to a hospital for medical check up.
Osman told the rescue team that there was another person in the same location. Police searched the area with guide dogs after Osman was rescued and they intensified their operations looking for the second person.
The three join a small group of quake survivors who have defied predictions that the time for survival had passed earlier this week. On Tuesday, a 77-year-old woman was pulled alive from the rubble in the city of Adiyaman some 212 hours after the earthquake struck, Anadolu reported.
Popular Ghanaian actor, Majid Michel has revealed that he did not attend any pastoral school, rather the media named him pastor.
In an interview on DayBreak Hitz on Hitz FM, he explained that he began lecturing at various meetings, churches, and conferences to spread what he had discovered about Christianity
Even though he has never received a pastor’s ordination, the media then started referring to him as one.
“After I grew up and discovered it for myself I decided to teach it. In a bid to share what I have learned, the media saw me in various churches, conferences, and gatherings where I spoke about these things and it was the media that said I was a pastor but I have never been to the bible school. I have never been an ordained pastor,” he said.
Michel said that he did not fully understand Christianity when he was younger but later read and studied the Bible to gain a better understanding. He then wanted to share what he had learned with others who might be in a similar situation.
“Growing up I never understood any of those things (being Christian), and after I grew up, I found out for myself, read it for myself, and because I never understood the teachings all through the church, or school, it didn’t make any sense to me,” he added.
Although he has never been to Bible school or been ordained as a pastor, Michel emphasized that he is a true believer in God and the teachings of Christianity, including the belief that God sent his son to redeem his people.
“I have said it so many times that I don’t want to diminish the anointing God has given to me. I am a true believer in the living God, the God who created heaven and earth.
“I am a believer in the fact that God sent his son, called Yesua to the world to redeem his people, yes I believe that,” he disclosed.
Majid is a very popular actor and is now known by many as a pastor.
Deputy Coordinator, Free Senior High School (FSHS), Nana Afrah Sika Mensah, has asked parents and students to accept the schools they have been posted to.
She said the Category ‘A’ and ‘B’ schools were filled and had no space, hence, all students who were placed in Category ‘C’ ‘D,’ Technical, Vocational, Engineering Teaching (TVET) schools must accept and enrol.
The Categories ‘A, B, C, and D’ are used by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to place students from the Junior High School (JHS) into the SHS and the Technical/ Vocational Institutes (TVIs).
A Category ‘A’ Secondary school is regarded as the best in the country, followed by B, C, and D, and often has the highest grades, best academic achievements, and adequate facilities.
Nana Mensah made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday as the Centre opened to receive complaints of parents and students during the Computerised School Selection Placement (CSSPS).
The Deputy Coordinator said the majority of the issues that the centre received on 15th and 16th February 2023 were resolved, however, some of the complainants had returned for replacement.
‘‘Nothing could be done about it, they would have to accept and go to the school,’’ she stated.
Nana Mensah said they would not condone those with the kind of issues to change schools to prevent the middlemen from taking advantage of the situation to dupe people.
The issues received at the Centre include students who have not been placed in a school, those who want a change of school, change of status, re-entry into SHS and Gender issues.
The Deputy Coordinator said a total of 4,432 placement issues were received last week on Thursday and Friday with 2,152 change of school issues, six Gender issues and 51 re-entries.
She said there were 119 and 502 students who were interested in Science, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and TVET, respectively.
The Deputy Coordinator said the centre would be open for six weeks to receive school placement issues.
Master Kelvin Opoku-Antwi, a student, who had an issue with the distance from his residence to the school he was placed, said his issue had been resolved as expected after he reported to the Centre last Thursday.
Miss Florence Lamptey, who had an aggregate 13, said she performed well but did not understand the reason for her placement in another school instead of Yaa Asantewaa SHS, her first-choice school.
Meanwhile, her sister, Miss Bernice Lamptey, with aggregate 11, said she was placed in Yaa Asantewaa, also her first choice but was offered Home Economics instead of science.
Miss Mariay Nuhu, placed in GHANATA in the northern part of the country, said her father did not want her to attend a boarding school but one that was in Accra.
Another student said her mother refused to support her because of the distance from her residence to the school in the Oti Region, therefore she followed her friend to the centre, to change her school.
CEO of Charterhouse Ghana, Theresa Ayoade, has recounted how financial difficulties brought her educational journey in the United Kingdom to an abrupt end.
The popular businesswoman said she was compelled to work as a salesgirl in a shop at Adabraka upon returning to Ghana from the UK.
In narrating her story in an interview with Joy Prime’s Roselyn Feli, Mrs. Ayoade recalled how a conversation with a friend resulted in an opportunity to work as a sales girl in a shop at Adabraka, where she sold lighting fittings.
“I went to the UK to pursue my degree course in economics and my parents were sponsoring me at that time. But my father ran into a few financial challenges, which made it difficult for him to continue paying my fees or sponsoring me…I had to stop. My education was truncated.
“I called up a friend…he said, oh I have a shop. You can come and sit in my shop. I said okay. It’s better than sitting at home… The shop was selling lighting fittings. So I was a sales girl in Adabraka and that’s how I started my career in Ghana,” she stated.
Narrating further, Roselyn detailed how she got fed up and aspired for a greater feat along the line.
The CEO of Charterhouse said she ventured into media although her initial dream was to be a banker.
She, however, rose through the corporate ladder and joined one of the popular media houses in Ghana as a sales and marketing manager where she landed a promotion after two years.
“I was the only girl in the sales team and when the opportunity came. I was the one who was promoted to go to Luv FM as the Sales and Marketing Manager…I worked in Kumasi for about two years and I came back to Joy FM where I was promoted to Promotions Manager…,” she recounted.
Nkwanta South Municipal Education Director in the Oti Region, Jonathan Kosinah, has pledged his support to International Justice Commission (IJM) in the fight against human trafficking within the jurisdiction.
The International Justice Commission is a global organisation aimed at protecting people in poverty from violence and combating child trafficking, slavery, and violence against women and children through local authorities in the country including the education sector, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), the police, among others, with the support of journalists across the globe.
Kosinah, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said his outfit is ever ready to support IJM in fighting human trafficking issues within his jurisdiction.
He said it was the right of every child of school age to be in school and have access to education, which no one has the right to deprive them of it, not even their parents.
He said that the guidance and counselling unit under GES would be made available for IJM to sensitisation of stakeholders and students.
He stated that they would help in the awareness creation of human trafficking in the country and its effects and how to stop it in their various schools.
He finally urged IJM to continue supporting human trafficked survivors so that they may not relapse into the same predicament they found themselves.
Minister-Designate for Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, has pledged to take off from where former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen left off.
He says the Government had been in power for the past six years and the blocks had already been laid, hence he will continue from where his predecessor, Alan Kyerematen, left off.
“Government has been in power for the past six years, and I’m just coming in at the tail end – two years to go,” he said.
Hammond, also the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, said this on Monday when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting.
He expressed concern over Ghana’s over-dependence on the importation, which had terrible effects on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
“I think it’s about time we took a serious look at this particular issue. I’m told a committee was put up by Cabinet to deal specifically with this matter.”
On his achievements as a deputy minister of Energy, Mr Hammond mentioned the expansion of rural electrification and the signing of contracts for the exploration of oil in commercial quantities, as some of the success stories under the Kufuor Administration.
During his tenure as a deputy minister of the Interior, the Kufuor Administration ensured that Immigration officers could carry some weapons on them, he said.
K.T. Hammond, in responding to the report of the Sole Commissioner on Judgement Debt, concerning the sale of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Drill Ship and the Government’s White Paper on it, which was raised by Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza, the Minority Chief Whip, the nominee said the decision to sell the Drill Ship was a cabinet one.
The White Paper also referred Mr Hammond to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for further investigations on the payment of $900,000.00 to the Law Firm ‘Constant and Constant’.
“Government further directs EOCO to investigate the mandate, authority and/or basis of K.T. Hammond’s disbursement of the $900,000.00 to the Law Firm ‘Constant and Constant’ to cater for future debts of GNPC to other creditors.’’
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader, urged the Committee to knock on the door of EOCO for further clarification on the matter.
Hammond spoke about other issues such as the One District, One Factory, tax exemption and other flagship projects of the Government, which, he noted, were great initiatives to spur economic growth.
On Monday, Japan vowed to provide $5.5 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, virtually quadrupling the sum Tokyo had previously promised to Kiev since Moscow invaded its neighbour almost a year ago.
According to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, “Japan is in a position to lead the world’s efforts to support Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression and to defend a free and open international order based on the rule of law.”
Tokyo had previously pledged to send Kyiv $600 million in financial assistance and $700 million worth of humanitarian aid including medical supplies and food assistance. It also joined Western allies in imposing strict sanctions on Russia over its invasion.
Last summer, Kishida said in a speech that Russia’s invasion gave warning that “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow” – and he echoed that language Monday.
“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is not just a European matter, but a challenge to the rules and principles of the entire international community,” he said.
He added that Japan faces its “most severe” security environment since World War II, citing North Korea’s growing nuclear missile program and “attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas.”
Kishida did not name specifics, but Tokyo has seen itself increasingly at odds with Beijing over islands claimed by both Japan and China in the East China Sea. Meanwhile, Kishida and other Japanese officials have previously said that peace across the Taiwan Strait is of extreme importance to Japan’s security.
Late last year, Kishida announced a large increase in Japanese military spending and Tokyo’s intention to acquire long-range weapons to counter threats to Japan’s security.
Kishida also announced on Monday that he will host an online summit of G7 leaders with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion and ahead of the annual G7 summit in Hiroshima in May.
The Japanese leader said Hiroshima was an appropriate venue for the summit as the city was the site of an atomic bombing during World War II and Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine is raising new nuclear fears.
“Due to Russia’s actions, the world now faces a real threat from nuclear weapons,” Kishida said. “It is important to convey the reality of the atomic bombings to the world, including the G7 leaders, as the starting point for all efforts toward nuclear disarmament.”
After four years ever since she broke up with Medikal, Sister Derby has disclosed that she made money from their split.
The Ghanaian model dated the Ghanaian rapper before their split in 2018. The breakup turned out to be more dramatic as it emerged that Medikal has started dating Fella Makafui who is now married to the ‘AMG’ rapper.
Amidst the split, Sister Deborah released a single she titled ‘Kakalika Love’. Justifying the song that intensified their breakup, the model said her ability to move away from depression and make money out of a bad situation triggered some women.
“Sadly, a lot of women were angry that I was happy, I had a hit song and was doing promotions where I was giving out GH1000 every week because we were sponsored by someone who really loved the song and believed in the brand. I saw and heard that fellow women were angry…angry that I wasn’t depressed,” she said.
In an interview with Sika Osei, she added that “no matter what life throws at you, make something positive from it. For example, when I went through a major public breakup and then I released ‘Kakalika Love’. Wanlov said that was the right time to release ‘Kakalika Love’… I had already recorded ‘Kakalika Love’…I was waiting for the right moment but then I didn’t want people to say I was responding and going back and forth”.
She continued that: “I won’t join people down there, come on. There is a way to do it…Adele made a whole album about her break up…we too we made cedis and pesewas (laughs)…other people will go through a bad breakup and be depressed, sad and cry about it which a lot of people wanted to see me go through it.”
MP for Adansi-Asokwa and Minister designate for Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, was questioned by the Minority in Parliament over how he disbursed $900k proceeds from sale of GNPC drill ship.
Mr Hammond had appeared before the vetting committee when the question was posed to him.
There is grave concern from the Majority leadership in Parliament that the Trade and Industry Minister-designate, KT Hammond, may not be passed by Parliament’s Appointment Committee.
Both the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu and his Deputy, Alex Afenyo Markin on Monday sounded the alarm and attempted to get Parliament’s Appointments Committee to resolve what they believe to be a key constitutional matter.
The controversy revolves around KT Hammond’s involvement in the controversial sale of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) drill ship as Deputy Energy Minister under the erstwhile Kufuor administration.
A commission of inquiry had questioned how Mr. Hammond disbursed some $900,000 after he sold the drill ship.
The question was put to him by the Minority Chief Whip, Kwame Agbodza when Mr. Hammond appeared before the Appointments Committee.
“KT Hammond’s disbursement of $900,000 to the law firm, Constant and Constant to cater for future debts of GNPC to other operations. Were you queried as to whether the $900,000, which mandate you had to expend that money?” Mr Agbodza asked.
But in response, Mr Hammond replied in the negative.
“No, I was not queried about that. Mr Chairman, you see, you guys should be a little careful.
“Mr Chairman, when a report like this is presented to the government, the government comments on the back of the report, and not to make its own findings. That part over there was an addition by the government which had have no reflection in the report presented by Mr. Justice Appau. Actually, it is really unfair,” he added.
There was a heated argument after this response because Mr Hammond accused Mr. Agbodza of reading from a paper and not the document presented.
Mr Agbodza then asked which company purchased the drill ship. “And do you have any relationship with the company that bought the real estate?”
The Member of Parliament of Adansi-Asokwa Constituency, Kobina Tahir Hammond has said that he is not in a position to tackle issues regarding the size of government and whether or not it should be reduced.
Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee to be vetted as a nominee for the Ministry of Trade and Industry, he said concerns about the size of government should be addressed to the President.
“That’s (concerns of government size) a matter for the president who was voted for by the whole country. He’s the Executive President so these are matters I think he can comfortably deal with,” Mr. Hammond said.
The Minister-designate for Trade and Industry mentioned that he is very concerned about the state of the economy but Ghana is not the only country with an economic crisis.
“Ghana is not an island, isolated on its own, we are a formidable part of the global world, there’s a difficulty in the whole world brought about by certain economic factors, exogenous and internal ones, its difficult but I tell you that’s not the end of the world,” he said.
K.T. Hammond continued that he believes ‘burden-sharing’ is part of the sacrifices both the government and the people of Ghana can do to relieve the nation of its tough economic crisis but its operation should be discussed.
“The burden of economic recovery, yes every hand on the wheel, we’re all together making sure that we get back to where we were before COVID and others ravaged the economy” he indicated.
On Monday, February 20, 2023, the ministerial vetting of six nominees started in Parliament.
Scheduled for today is Kobina Tahiru Hammond who has been nominated for the position of Minister of Trade and Industry, Bryan Acheampong, for the position of Minister of Food and Agriculture and Stephen Asamoah Boateng, nominated for the position of Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
An Instagram model, Mary Sebastian Pickles Magdalene, who is widely known for her ‘bimbo look’ has shared her regret of undergoing surgeries to achieve her current look.
According to the Instagram model who is addicted to plastic surgeries, she now feels trapped. Mary Magdalene who also had surgery to enhance her v*gina has made a shocking confession that one of her breast implants burst.
In a series of posts shared on social media, she admitted that she wishes she never jumped on the plastic surgery bandwagon.
“So sick of this surgery BS:( am trapped now for who knows how long … cuz u will get something done in hopes to “fix something but then the doctor could mess up… I am burnt the fuck out from this lifestyle I wish I never did it not worth all the time money stress my body can’t recover the same anymore,” her post read.
LUCKILY MY NEW SMALL BOOBS AND PUNANI LOOK GREAT… I WON’T BE REVEALING THE RESULTS FOR A WHILE UNTIL I AM RECOVERED MORE.
THE OTHER SURGERY I HAD WAS TO FIX ONE SIDE OF MY BUTT AND THATS WAT IM HAVING ISSUE WITH I HOPE IT IS JUST SWELLING I WILL GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT THAT AS TIME GOES ON. THE DOCTOR AND THE NURSES HAVE BEEN GREAT SO IM NOT EVEN TALKING SHIT IT JUST THE SILICONE IS REACTING WILD
“NOW I JUST HAVE TO DO A BUTT RECONSTRUCTION SO I CAN HAVE A NATURALISH LOOKING SIZE THEN DISSOLVE MY LIPS A BIT N AND ILL B GOOD- ILL BE FREEE FROM THIS SURGERY PRISON!!!!” she concluded.
A few minutes ago, Mary has come back to add that “I want to talk about what I mean when I say I feel trapped. You have to keep in mind that when you get a lot of surgery you’re more than likely going to have to have to keep getting surgery for who knows how long.
“For example: you got a nose job and it collapsed, you got a breast implant and it ruptures, you got a BBL and the left side bigger than the other so u have to go fix it, you Overfill your face but then you decide you want to go back natural so you have to dissolve which may take various sessions and then possibly you will be left with loose skin that you then have to fix,” she continued.
I loved the bimbo look but that is what has put me off from it it is just being stuck in repetitive never ending cycle of surgery which I no longer care for- it’s not a fun little adventure anymore it is just draining in every way possible- My time gets draimed, my bank account, my energy, my health”.
The Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Daniel Noble Awume has lauded one of government’s flagship programmes, one district one factory (1D1F).
He said that the One-District, One-Factory (1D1F) initiative in the Hohoe Municipality has been of great importance to the people in the area, especially the youth.
He noted that the wood processing company which was in existence before government roped them in the 1D1F initiative has helped to create employment in the area.
According to Mr. Awume, the youth factory which is into rice processing would also provide employment for many youth in the municipality, allowing them to become financially independent.
The Hohoe MCE noted that the NPP-led administration is committed to empowering the youth and has urged the youth in the Hohoe Municipality to take advantage of the initiative.
Mr Awume noted that the project would help promote local economic activities when it fully starts operations.
“This project will greatly help boost the local economy as well as empower the youth with employable skills,” Mr Awume said.
The Volta Regional Directorate of 1D1F projects 2020 unveiled some projects under the scheme with support from the government.
Other projects that have begun operating under the 1D1F initiative include the processing of cassava into ethanol and carbon dioxide, as well as the Volta Forest Company, a wood processing company, which is receiving financial support and facilitation from the government through the EXIM Bank to help boost their businesses.
In Ketu South and Keta Municipalities, which are into cassava processing, gari, starch and ethanol there are structures with some equipment but yet to be operational.
Esther Batse who is in charge of the Enable Youth Center, a rice processing industry noted that the initiative, which is youth-centered, would greatly help the youth find their feet in the labour market.
The country’s food security balance sheet, according to data from the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CAG), has hit a negative two percent.
CAG’s Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Selorm Morrison, explained that food security – considering the food in storage or reserves, vis-à-vis volume of food imported and compared to national consumption demands – has fallen two percent.
This is despite government’s flagship programmes including Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) and Rearing for Food and Jobs – initiatives government banked its hopes on to transform food security.
CAG attributed the dwindling domestic production of food items to lack of commitment by governments over the last two decades, explaining that spending on agriculture or food production over the period has been inadequate and, in most cases, misdirected.
Data from CAG indicate that the country’s food importation bill has jumped to in excess of US$5billion per annum.
To change this narrative, he told the B&FT that government must embark on the right investment procedures. Though the flagship PFJ has been running for the last seven years, the amount of investment made is only estimated at GH¢6billion.
This amount, which is less than US$1billion in current terms according to CAG, is woefully inadequate for the required investment to put the country on a path to food security.
“The PFJ is only a political tool providing a pint-size solution to the bigger problem. How do we seek to achieve a food security target when we are investing less in production compared to how much food we import?” Mr. Morrison questioned.
Ghana’s quest to ensure food security per the current estimated amount expended on food imports means the country will have to allocate not less than US$1billion each year to food production in incremental demands, at least for the next ten years, to achieve a meaningful target.
This year, government is spending almost US$52million on its PFJ programme according to the 2023 national budget.
As a signatory to the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme in 2003 (the Malabo Declaration), of which member-countries were expected to increase agricultural investment to 10 percent of annual budgets, the country has consistently struggled to meet even two percent of budgetary allocation to the sector.
The B&FT has observed that total allocation to the agriculture sector in the 2023 national budget is only 1.13 percent – woefully short of the Malabo pledge.
Recommendations
The Chamber recommended that government should adopt internal mechanisms to curb the challenge and improve the situation.
“Over 50 percent of non-essential commodities on shelves across all supermarkets must be avoided, with priority to local industries to produce such,” CAG noted.
Mr. Morrison indicated that special protection mechanisms must be given to local industries; and quota systems allocated for the production of items including fruit-juice, tooth-picks, matches, and candles among others, adding: “These items are contributing a huge forex burden to imports and causing the cedi’s depreciation”.
This week, Wang Yi, who was appointed last month as Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy adviser, is scheduled to arrive in Moscow for the last leg of his eight-day European tour. Wang Yi’s visit highlights China’s attempts at diplomatic balancing since Russia’s tanks entered Ukraine a year ago.
The Kremlin has said it does not “rule out” a meeting between Wang and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. If they do meet, the images of Wang and Putin shaking hands inside the fortified Kremlin will be a stark juxtaposition to Biden’s open-air stroll with Zelensky through Kyiv amid air raid sirens.
The optics of the two trips – taking place just days before the one-year anniversary of the brutal war on Friday – underscores the sharpening of geopolitical fault lines between the world’s two superpowers.
While relations between the US and China continue to plummet – most recently due to the fallout from a suspected Chinese spy balloon that entered US airspace, China and Russia are as close as ever since their leaders declared a “no-limits” friendship a year ago – partly driven by their shared animosity toward the United States.
And as the US and its allies reaffirm their support for Ukraine and step up military aid, Beijing’s deepening partnership with Moscow has raised alarms in Western capitals – despite China’s public charm offensive in Europe to present itself as a negotiator of peace.
At the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Wang addressed a room of European officials as “dear friends” and touted China’s commitment to peace, while apparently attempting to drive a wedge between Europe and the US.
“We do not add fuel to the fire, and we’re against reaping benefits from this crisis,” Wang said in a thinly veiled dig at the US, echoing the propaganda messaging that regularly made China’s nightly prime-time news program – that the US is intentionally prolonging the war to advance its own geopolitical interests and increase the profits of its arms manufacturers.
“Some forces might not want to see peace talks to materialize. They don’t care about the life and death of Ukrainians, nor the harm on Europe. They might have strategic goals larger than Ukraine itself. This warfare must not continue,” Wang said.
He urged European officials to think about “what framework should there be to bring lasting peace to Europe, what role should Europe play to manifest its strategic autonomy.”
Wang also announced Beijing’s plan to release its proposition on a “political settlement of the Ukraine crisis” around the first anniversary.
But the vague mention of the proposal was met with suspicion from some Western leaders who are closely watching for any support China lends to its northern neighbor – especially assistance that could help Russia on the battlefield.
“We need more proof that China isn’t working with Russia, and we aren’t seeing that now,” European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen told CNN Saturday.
Such suspicions are compounded by claims by US officials that Beijing is considering stepping up its partnership with Moscow by supplying Russia’s military with “lethal support.”
“We’ve been watching this very closely,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told “Face the Nation” on CBS in Munich on Sunday.
“The concern that we have now is based on information we have that they’re considering providing lethal support, and we’ve made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship,” Blinken said.
Responding to the accusations Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry blasted the US for “shoving responsibility, shifting blame and spreading false information.”
“It is the US side, not the Chinese side, that supplies a steady stream of weapons to the battlefield. The US side is not qualified to lecture China, and we would never accept the US dictating or even coercing pressure on Sino-Russian relations,” a ministry spokesperson said at a regular news conference.
“Who is calling for dialogue and peace? And who is handing out knives and encouraging confrontation? The international community can see clearly,” the spokesperson said.
US officials have been concerned enough with the intelligence that they shared it with allies and partners in Munich, according to CNN reporting. In a meeting with Wang on the sidelines of the conference Saturday, Blinken also raised the issue and warned Wang about its “implications and consequences,” according to a US readout.
The US accusations, if true, would mark a major escalation in China’s support for Russia – and usher in a dangerous and unpredictable new phase in the war itself.
Previously, Beijing had carefully avoided actions that could trigger secondary sanctions, which would deal a devastating blow to an economy hampered by three years of costly zero-Covid policy.
Though China claimed impartiality in the conflict and no advance knowledge of Russia’s intent, it has refused to condemn Moscow and parroted Kremlin lines blaming NATO for provoking the conflict.
And while Beijing’s pro-Russian rhetoric appears to have softened in recent months, its support for Moscow – when measured by its annual trade, diplomatic engagements and schedule of joint military exercises – has bolstered over the past year.
Chinese officials have often calibrated their narrative to different audiences. Wang may have made many appealing pledges during his Europe tour, but whether they will be translated into a consistent message to be delivered to Putin when the two meet is another question.
Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso Constituency and Deputy Minister-nominee for Trade and Industry, Stephen Amoah, wants a support fund to be established for the family of former Black Stars player, Christian Atsu, following his demise.
Former Ghana international, Christian Atsu was found dead from the rubble of the devastating Turkey earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2023, and has claimed over 45,000 lives.
A brief ceremony was held at the Kotoka International Airport on Sunday evening to receive the mortal remains of the 2015 AFCON best player by the family, the Ghana Football Association (GFA), and the Government of Ghana.
The 31-year-old’s death has plunged Ghana and the football world into a state of mourning with many yet to recover from the shock of his demise.
MP for Nhyiaeso, Stephen Amoah, phoned in to LUV FM’s Saturday Sports Show to express his condolences to the family of Christian Atsu, the GFA and the entire sports fraternity.
He proposed a fund be set up for his family and a monument built to honour Atsu to preserve his legacy in Ghana football.
“What I am begging all of us to do is to set up a fund for his family, I mean his kids because everybody is saying he is a good person.
“And I think this is the first time we are experiencing this as a country that out of this unfortunate situation, we have lost a great person like Atsu.
“So I am just proposing that let’s all push for something for his family.
“There should be a monument done for this guy [Atsu] close to any of our stadia and I’m sure it will motivate other people but I am very sad.”
The Ghana Premier League and the major European leagues, including the EPL, observed a minute of silence over the weekend to pay tribute to the departed Christian Atsu.
President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu, has bemoaned the rate of poverty among public sector workers.
He contends that while it is assumed that public sector workers take the largest chunk of government’s internally generated revenue, “the fact of the matter is that majority of public sector workers are impoverished in this country.”
He was speaking on the recent Ghana Statistical Service report which had revealed that more than 80% of public sector workers earn less than 3,000 cedis, with the lowest salary being 418 cedis.
According to Angel Carbonu, successive governments have refused to address the huge salary disparity in the public sector, and have rather pitted Ghanaians against the sector whenever there are demands for higher wages.
“We’ve even made demands from government that whenever government makes a statement that public sector workers are taking this percentage of internally generated revenue, then we tell government ‘ok, let’s sit down, let’s disaggregate them into portions, and let’s see who actually in terms of numbers takes the huge quantum of the amount of the internally generated revenue, who actually takes what home and who is actually taking the bigger chunk of the pie,’” he said on JoyNews’ PM Express.
He said when the breakdown is finally done, it would most likely be discovered that political appointees take quite a considerable chunk of the government’s fund as compared to the public sector worker.
“For us, let us even see how much from the government kitty goes to these people and compare it to the public servant or the civil servant who has been working for the past 20 to 30 years and find out how much he or she also takes home, then you’ll begin to see the unfairness in how we dish out monies to people as compensation for work that they’ve done or work that they have not done.
“This argument is always raised whenever government seems to excite the sympathy of the public to indicate that ‘o they’re taking this huge percentage of our internally generated revenue every year, therefore when they come to make demands, tell them they’re not entitled to what they make.’” he said.
According to him, till the issue is appropriately addressed public sector workers will remain impoverished.
“At the end of the day, the statistics show that public sector workers are taking huge chunk of the revenue, the fact of the matter is that majority of public sector workers are impoverished in this country,” he concluded.
After discovering what seemed to be the wreckage of a missing plane carrying two Australians, a Filipino pilot, and a crew member, Philippine officials on Monday began a search effort atop a volatile volcano.
The six-seater Cessna 340 aircraft was headed for Manila when it lost touch with air traffic control on Saturday after taking off from Bicol International Airport in Albay province, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
The two Australians – Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam – were technical consultants working for Energy Development Corp., a Manila-based geothermal firm, the company confirmed in a statement.
“It’s now the fourth day since they’ve gone missing, and considering the terrain and harsh weather, it’s a difficult and challenging situation … we continue to hope and pray that we will locate them,” Allan Barcena, the company’s assistant vice president and spokesman, told CNN on Tuesday.
In the statement, the company said its emergency response team had located wreckage at an altitude of about 6,000 feet (1,823 meters) near Mount Mayon, which last erupted in 2018, on Sunday.
Authorities were still working to reach the wreckage and verify it belongs to the missing plane, CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio told state broadcaster PTV on Monday.
“We only have aerial photos – the drone shots – but we cannot confirm if that is the said aircraft. Our accident investigators need to see the actual crash site on the ground,” Apolonio said.
“We need to find the plane first before we can determine what caused the crash.”
The wreckage is located near a “permanent danger site” and a determined “no-fly zone” around the volcano, and rescue teams have been given permission by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology to begin the high-risk search operations, he said. Heavy rain and risk of landslides have added difficulty to the search.
More than 200 personnel along with 34 vehicles, 11 drones and four K9 dogs were deployed in the joint search and rescue operation to reach the aircraft in the remote volcano, according to state-run Philippine News Agency.
When Mount Mayon last erupted, it spewed ash and lava flow, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of villagers. The volcano’s most devastating eruption took place in 1814 when at least 1,200 people were killed.
HK Yu, Australia’s ambassador in the Philippines said on Twitter that the embassy is in contact with Philippine authorities and providing consular assistance to the families of the two Australians.
“Sadly, we are aware that two Australians were reported to be on the light aircraft which disappeared in Albay province in the Philippines on Saturday 18 Feb,” Yu said. “Our thoughts are with the families, friends and loved ones of all those affected.
In a self-recorded video, Nana Agradaa now Evangelist Mama Pat slammed veteran hiplife artiste and dancer Slim Buster for talking about her.
Slim Buster recently had an interview with Amankrado a former best friend of Nana Agradaa where he made some comments about her which we believe Nana Agradaa didn’t like.
Following this, Nana Agradaa decided to go hard on the musician asking him why he would join a fight when he didn’t know the genesis of the fight.
An irked Agradaa rained insults on Slim Buster demeaning his personality. Nana Agradaa warned the musician to stay away from her otherwise she was going to switch the fight to him adding that this was his last warning.
Nana Agradaa, in the video, alleged that Slim Buster is gay and that he does his gay ‘things’ without shame.
Minister-designate for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has declared his stance on the longstanding LGBTQ debate. According to Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, he is opposed to same-sex marriage in the country.
“Same-sex legalising in Ghana, I am opposed to it,” he said.
He made this comment when he appeared before Parliament’s Appointment Committee on Monday for vetting.
Mr Asamoah Boateng’s comment was in response to Awutu Senya West MP, Gizella Tetteh’s question about his view on the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Ghana,
Over the last few years, the issue has been a hot topic in Ghana with a bill – anti-LGBTQI currently before Parliament to criminalise the activities of the LGBTQ+ community in the country.
Touching on what his legacy would be when given the nod as the sector minister since he has two years to be in office, Mr Asamoah Boateng noted that he would fight for the Ministry to assume its rightful position as custodians of tradition.
He further stated that he would ensure that “our traditional authorities are lifted higher to the dignified and noble status.”
“Our Christian and Moslem leadership must be given the necessary support so they can get congregation to understand that we are one nation which is a sovereign state … so my role is to make sure that we all work together on this aspect and not bring trouble. In the case of conflict, we will manage it and jaw jaw,” he added.
Nana Tonardo has shared a beautiful photo with his daughter identified as Francine.
Odii Tonardo shared an intimate moment with his daughter as they stepped out together.
The two stepped out for a wedding and made the most out of their time together.
In the photo, both Tonardo and his daughter rocked stylish shades; and Tonardo was in a suit whilst Francine stunned in a simple dress flaunting a bit of skin.
Odii Tonardo had his daughter sitting pretty on him whilst they took the photo.
Currently, social media users are drooling over them.
Tonardo’s daughter has stolen the attention of social media users as they compliment her natural beauty.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Joshua Ansah, has criticised the Single Spine Salary Structure; describing it as a failure.
He says the policy has totally failed to achieve its objective.
The Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) is one of the major components of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) introduced by the Government of Ghana and got implemented in 2010, to regulate the payment of public service workers especially those under article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
It was meant to address the pay disparities within the sector.
However, following a 2022 Ghana Statistical Service report, it has been revealed that the pay gap has rather widened over time. Currently, the highest earner on the Single Spine Structure is receiving 81 times what the lowest earner is receiving.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Joshua Ansah noted that it was time for the policy to be relooked at comprehensively to ensure that the situation is remedied.
“I’ll say it has totally failed to achieve its objective that was set for the single spine salary structure. A lot of things go wrong and we think that we need to relook at the single spine pay straucture which I think a committee has been put in place to look at. But there are so many things and so many factors that has actually resulted in the low incomes for workers in this very country.
“And I think that it is time for us to actually relook and check what went wrong, what has gone wrong and why is it that we’re unable to achieve the objective for which the single spine salary which was to be the panacea for pay disparities in this country is not achieving.
“So I think that it has not achieved its purpose and we think that we need to relook at it holistically, otherwise this problem is going to persist every day, now and then,” he said.
Actor Idris Elba says he’s going to stick with being the tormented detective John Luther — not James Bond.
Speaking Tuesday to the World Government Summit in Dubai, Elba brought up the persistent discussions about him taking over as Ian Fleming’s famed British spy. Those had grown louder after Daniel Craig’s demise as Bond in the 25th film in the franchise called “No Time to Die.”
Asked about his upcoming film based on the British series “Luther,” Elba clearly took himself out of playing 007.
“It’s very dark,” Elba said of the series. “We’ve been working on the television show for about 10 years and so the natural ambition is to take it to the big screen, and so we’re here with the first movie.”
He added: “You know, a lot of people talk about another character that begins with ‘J’ and ends with ‘B,’ but I’m not going to be that guy. I’m going to be John Luther. That’s who I am.”
“Luther: The Fallen Sun” is due to come out in American theaters on Feb. 24, then stream on Netflix beginning March 10. It also co-stars Andy Serkis and other actors from the television series.
Elba, 50, is known for a variety of television and film roles, ranging from Stringer Bell on the American television series “The Wire” and the recent movie “Beast.”
While on stage, Elba discussed an upcoming film he’s working on with the American actor and wrestler John Cena called “The Heads of State.”
“He plays the American president. I play the British prime minister,” Elba said. “We get into a caper. I’m very excited about doing that because leadership comes in many different forms.”
In recent weeks, Elba has appeared at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he and his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba received an award for their work on food security in Africa. Elba also has worked as an anti-crime ambassador with his “Don’t Stab Your Future” initiative in the United Kingdom, where he grew up in east London.
During his talk, Elba urged nations to invest more in creative industries, saying it can provide an economic engine that provides jobs to their youth. In particular, he said creative jobs could greatly help countries in Africa.
“I believe that Africa, especially as a continent, needs to hold a narrative, change a narrative,” he said.
Discussing storytelling, Elba also praised Dubai for its “incredible tourism story” that it has developed over the last decades. The city-state is seeing a new real estate boom, fueled in part by Russian cash amid Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
“I think Dubai should win an Oscar because the (place) is incredible,” Elba said to applause. “It’s a very, very good job and other countries should take note.”
Two weeks after a huge earthquake that left tens of thousands of dead in both nations, a magnitude 6.3 aftershock that hit southern Turkey on Monday killed at least three people and injured hundreds more, according to Turkish and Syrian officials.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu stated on Monday that the epicentre of the earthquake was in the Defne region of the province and that there have since been 26 aftershocks.
Turkish officials say at least three people were killed and 294 people were injured following Monday’s aftershocks.
In the city of Antakya in the country’s southern Hatay province, three men were trapped when a building that had survived the initial quake two weeks ago collapsed, according to their relative, Yahya Hallak.
Hundreds of rescuers worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning trying to reach the men, some falling asleep on rubble next to fires to stay warm, as others endured freezing conditions to shift heavy rubble.
“Our teams are working to take the injured to hospitals, inspect the affected villages and towns, and remove rubble to open the roads for the ambulances,” the White Helmets said.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the quake as being of magnitude 6.4 at a depth of 10 kilometers before revising it down to 6.3 magnitude.
Officials have been urging the public to stay away from buildings. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay earlier Monday asked the public “not to enter the damaged buildings, especially to take their belongings.”
Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 18 of the injured are in serious condition and were transported to Adana and Dörtyol. Field hospitals are continuing to provide services to other patients, he said.
“I wish for our injured, patients, local people and all the people of our country to get well soon. May Allah ease our pain with health and well-being, and protect us from new pains and worries,” Koca said.
The mayor of Samandag, near where the quake hit, said some buildings had collapsed and that the mood was one of panic following the AFAD warning.
CNN teams in Adana, Turkey felt the quake, as did eyewitnesses in Gaziantep and Mersin.
Monday’s earthquake follows a deadly magnitude 7.8 earthquake on February 6 that left more than 46,000 people dead in Turkey and Syria.
Families who were affected by the the earthquake two weeks ago told CNN of the terror caused by Monday’s tremors.
“We went back to our house and this shock happened again and we went out… may God help us,” said Zahir, who lives in a town between the cities of Iskenderun and Antakia, in Turkey’s Hatay province.
“We don’t know what to do today – today we will stay in the car and in the tent, we don’t know what will happen till tomorrow,” he told CNN.
On Sunday, Turkey’s disaster management authority said it had ended most search and rescue operations nearly two weeks after the earthquake struck as experts say the chances of survival for people trapped in the rubble this far into the disaster are unlikely.
Some efforts remain in the provinces of Kahramanmaraş and Hatay. On Saturday, a couple and their 12-year-old child were rescued in Hatay, 296 hours after the earthquake, state news agency Anadolu reported.
Efforts to retrieve survivors have been hampered by a cold winter spell across quake-stricken regions, while authorities grapple with the logistical challenges of transporting aid into northwestern Syria amid an acute humanitarian crisis compounded by years of political strife.
Turkey is no stranger to strong earthquakes, as it is situated along tectonic plate boundaries. Seven quakes with magnitude 7.0 or greater have struck the country in the past 25 years – but the one on February 6 was the most powerful and deadly.
Monday’s quake is considered an aftershock as it is in the same general region and lower than the original 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
According to the USGS, “Aftershocks become less frequent with time, although they can continue for days, weeks, months, or even years for a very large mainshock.”
The Interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana today, February 21, 2023, have shown that the Ghana Cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 10.7985 and a selling price of 10.8093.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 10.7985 and a selling price of 10.8093. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 12.60 and sold at a rate of 13.10.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 12.9852 and a selling price of 12.9993 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 12.9830 and a selling price of 12.9971.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 15.00 and sold at a rate of 15.80.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 11.5434 and a selling price of 11.5539 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 11.5292 and a selling price of 11.5396.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 13.00 and sold at a rate of 13.80.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.5951 and a selling price of 0.5957 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 0.5989 and a selling price of 0.5945.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.50 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 42.5957 and a selling price of 42.6948 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 42.6096 and a selling price of 42.7272.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 14.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 19.00.
Our forex bureau rates are provided by Afriswap Bureau De Change in Osu, Accra.
She said the Category ‘A’ and ‘B’ schools were filled and had no space, hence, all students who were placed in Category ‘C’ ‘D,’ Technical, Vocational, Engineering Teaching (TVET) schools must accept and enrol.
The Categories ‘A, B, C, and D’ are used by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to place students from the Junior High School (JHS) into the SHS and the Technical/ Vocational Institutes (TVIs).
A Category ‘A’ Secondary school is regarded as the best in the country, followed by B, C, and D, and often has the highest grades, best academic achievements, and adequate facilities.
Nana Mensah made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday as the Centre opened to receive complaints of parents and students during the Computerised School Selection Placement (CSSPS).
The Deputy Coordinator said the majority of the issues that the centre received on 15th and 16th February 2023 were resolved, however, some of the complainants had returned for replacement.
‘‘Nothing could be done about it, they would have to accept and go to the school,’’ she stated.
Nana Mensah said they would not condone those with the kind of issues to change schools to prevent the middlemen from taking advantage of the situation to dupe people.
The issues received at the Centre include students who have not been placed in a school, those who want a change of school, change of status, re-entry into SHS and Gender issues.
The Deputy Coordinator said a total of 4,432 placement issues were received last week on Thursday and Friday with 2,152 change of school issues, six Gender issues and 51 re-entries.
She said there were 119 and 502 students who were interested in Science, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and TVET, respectively.
The Deputy Coordinator said the centre would be open for six weeks to receive school placement issues.
Master Kelvin Opoku-Antwi, a student, who had an issue with the distance from his residence to the school he was placed, said his issue had been resolved as expected after he reported to the Centre last Thursday.
Miss Florence Lamptey, who had an aggregate 13, said she performed well but did not understand the reason for her placement in another school instead of Yaa Asantewaa SHS, her first-choice school.
Meanwhile, her sister, Miss Bernice Lamptey, with aggregate 11, said she was placed in Yaa Asantewaa, also her first choice but was offered Home Economics instead of science.
Miss Mariay Nuhu, placed in GHANATA in the northern part of the country, said her father did not want her to attend a boarding school but one that was in Accra.
Another student said her mother refused to support her because of the distance from her residence to the school in the Oti Region, therefore she followed her friend to the centre, to change her school.
Actor Majid Michel has for the first time opened up on what really cost him his voice.
Although he had said in a few interviews in the past that he lost his voice because he loved to argue a lot, his latest interview proves there is more to it than the reasons he gave in the past.
He said on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM on Monday, February 20, 2023 that he was once driving from Champs Hotel in Accra when his car was ran into by another car from behind.
Majid explained that right after the incident, he started experiencing breaks in his voice and ever since, he has not recovered from that.
“We were coming from Champs [Hotel], we just entered the road, from wona back some two cars dey race from GBC dey come. Some Mercedes E-Class den some other car. Dem Jee wona back bommm!!! Crazy whiplash so the whole axle under my car, came all the way to the back seat,” he narrated.
“This is the first time I am telling this story because number one, I never associate with this but listen, immediately we got down from the car, my voice started breaking when I was talking to the guy,” Majid added.
He, however, noted that when he told his doctors this story, they said it could never to be from the accident.
“But I said right after that particular accident, when I got down from the car, when I was talking, my voice was breaking,” he further recounted.
The ‘Crime to Christ’ actor said a couple of months after the accident, he was traveling and when he got to the airport he started speaking in falsetto because it was more comfortable speaking like that than having his voice oscillate between the low and high pitches.
He said the low tone of his voice has not waned, but because it takes air to power the vocal cords, it appears he does not get enough air to help him to speak.
“It feels like the air coming from my lungs finish too quick. So there is not air left,” he indicated.
Asked if this challenge with his voice has affected his acting career, he answered in the affirmative and added that as a result of his situation, he does not even accept long movie scripts.
Majid Michel is known for movies such as ‘Heart of Men’, ‘Somewhere in Africa’, ‘Crime to Christ’, ‘4Play’, ‘Chelsea’, among others.
He currently starred in Yvonne Nelson’s ‘Kotoka’ movie.
The Minister-designate for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, has taken a stance on the LGBTQI debate.
According to him, he is opposed to same-sex marriage in the country.
“Same-sex legalising in Ghana, I am opposed to it,” he said.
He made this comment when he appeared before Parliament’s Appointment Committee on Monday for vetting.
Mr Asamoah Boateng’s comment was in response to Awutu Senya West MP, Gizella Tetteh’s question about his view on the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Ghana,
Over the last few years, the issue has been a hot topic in Ghana with a bill – anti-LGBTQI currently before Parliament to criminalise the activities of the LGBTQ+ community in the country.
Touching on what his legacy would be when given the nod as the sector minister since he has two years to be in office, Mr Asamoah Boateng noted that he would fight for the Ministry to assume its rightful position as custodians of tradition.
He further stated that he would ensure that “our traditional authorities are lifted higher to the dignified and noble status.”
“Our Christian and Moslem leadership must be given the necessary support so they can get congregation to understand that we are one nation which is a sovereign state … so my role is to make sure that we all work together on this aspect and not bring trouble. In the case of conflict, we will manage it and jaw jaw,” he added.
Turkey’s disaster and emergency agency Afad said the tremor occurred at 20:04 local time (17:04 GMT), followed by dozens of aftershocks.
A 7.8-magnitude quake struck the same area on 6 February, killing more than 44,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Those killed by Monday’s tremor were found in Antakya, Defne, and Samandagi, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said, urging people not to enter potentially dangerous buildings.
Mr Soylu said 213 people had been injured in Turkey.
Witnesses told the Reuters news agency there had been further damage to buildings in Antakya, while the mayor of Hatay, in southern Turkey, said people were trapped under rubble.
“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” Muna al-Omar, a local resident, told Reuters, crying as she held her seven-year-old son. She was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the latest earthquake hit, she said.
Turkish authorities have recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks since the 6 February earthquake, but the BBC’s team in the region said the latest tremor felt much stronger than previous ones.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 470 injured people had visited hospitals after the quake, which was also reportedly felt in Egypt and Lebanon.
Afad said there were 32 aftershocks following Monday’s tremor, the largest of which had a magnitude of 5.8.
There is fear and panic in the streets – lines of ambulances and rescue crews are trying to get to some of the worst affected areas where the walls of badly damaged buildings have collapsed.
A number of structures that were left standing after the tremor on 6 February have now crumbled, including a bridge. Many cracks in roads have become deep scars making it more difficult for the emergency services to get where they may be needed.
An AFP journalist reported on scenes of panic in Antakya, the capital of Hatay Province which was already devastated by the previous earthquake – with the latest tremors raising clouds of dust in the city.
The walls of buildings also crumbled, AFP reports, with several apparently injured people calling for help.
Ali Mazlum said he was looking for the bodies of family members from the previous earthquake when the latest one hit.
“You don’t know what to do… we grabbed each other and right in front of us, the walls started to fall. It felt like the earth was opening up to swallow us up,” he said.
In a tweet, Afad initially urged people to stay away from coastlines as a precaution against the risk of rising sea levels, although the warning was later removed.
Ghana is hoping to obtain a $3 billion IMF deal by the end of the first quarter of 2023. According to the finance minister, failure to obtain the deal by March will crash the economy.
But the Minority Leader in parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, intimated that the deal with the IMF was rushed and poorly negotiated.
According to him, this is the fastest any country has undertaken an agreement with the Fund.
He, therefore, called on the government to set the example of cutting expenditures to encourage the approval of certain taxes in the 2023 budget.
“The budget statement does not look like a country that is embarking on fiscal consolidation. We will not allow you to engage in burden-shifting. Sow e are telling you if you want us to cut your loans, cut your taxes, cut first. Show us the way, show us the way that you are ready to share the burden with the people of Ghana before you call on us to approve your taxes. We won’t allow you to shift the burden to the ordinary Ghanaian,” he said on the floor of parliament on February 16, 2023.
He said, “this is the fastest a country has undertaken a debt restructuring This is one of the fastest agreements but it is the one that is mostly poorly negotiated because they rushed into it and didn’t constitute a proper strong team to be able to negotiate with the IMF and as a result, Ghana has had a bad deal.”
The Minority in Parliament has registered their disappointment at the President’s refusal to reduce the size of government at a time the country’s economy has dwindled.
The caucus at a press conference this morning called for the immediate reduction in the number of ministers from the current 86 to 65, as well as the merging of some ministries.
“Ghanaians had hoped that the seriousness of the economic situation would finally prompt a reduction in the size of government and that President Akufo-Addo will see the wisdom in getting rid of the deadwood in his government who have nothing to offer our country.
“In unison, Ghanaians have called for a reduction in the size of government, which is a major guzzler of public funds,” Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson said.
He added that: “Regrettably, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has carried on as usual, as though there is nothing at stake and continues to add to the plight of the people with reckless abandon.
“In the circumstances, while this insensitive government is refusing to act responsibly to contain the looming economic disaster, we in the Minority will faithfully discharge our duty to Ghanaians.”
The group also demanded a reduction in the number of political appointees at the Office of the President and the scrapping of all amorphous creations and waste-pipe appointments since the assumption of office of the President in 2017.
“The work of those undefined, amorphous creations must revert to established entities in the civil and public service that perform similar, if not the same functions,” the minority said.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on 7th February 2023, submitted to Parliament, seven names to be vetted and approved as ministers and deputy ministers.
They include Kobina Tahiru Hammond, Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa Constituency, as Minister for Trade and Industry; Dr. Stephen Amoah – Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry; and Bryan Acheampong as Minister for Food and Agriculture.
The rest are Stephen Asamoah Boateng – Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs; Mohammed Anim Adam – Minister of State in the Finance ministry; Osei Bonsu Amoah – Minister for Local Government and: Herbert Krapah – Deputy Minister for Energy.
The Appointment Committee in Parliament has today February 20, begun vetting the nominees.
Although medical doctors have claimed that the break in Majid Michel’s voice cannot be associated with the accident he suffered some years ago, the actor strongly believes that the event left him with a speech impediment.
Narrating his story for the first time in a radio interview with Andy Dosty, the celebrated actor recalled how a reckless driver bumped into his car from behind, damaged his vehicle, and left him with a medical condition.
“We were coming from Champs, we just entered the road, two cars were racing from GBC, they jammed on our back, boom!
“This is my first time telling the story… immediately we got down from the car, my voice started breaking when I was talking to the guy. Anytime I tell the Doctors they say it can never be from that…but right after the accident, when I got down from the car and I was talking my voice was breaking. If I talk, it breaks, it breaks…right there on the scene of the accident,” Majid disclosed in the interview monitored by GhanaWeb.
“I wasn’t shouting, I am very calm in chaos…no shouting but when I spoke, my voice was breaking,” he said.
Majid Michel commenting on his condition noted that he now prefers short scripts to longer lines due to the energy he has to put into speaking.
“Oh yes, It has affected not the acting but now when you are writing scripts for me, don’t write long lines. Short lines you know.”
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Crime Check Foundation has eulogised former Black Stars player, Christian Atsu, for his philanthropic works.
According to Ibrahim Kwarteng, Atsu was very passionate about his philanthropic works.
Recounting some of his good deeds, Mr Kwarteng noted that Atsu paid the bills of many sick people, paid the school fees of many kids and ensure ensured the release of many prisoners.
“Atsu had been monitoring the works of Crime Check Foundation and he reached out about 5 years ago. His dream was to see the fines of petty offenders being paid. He started pouring in money through which many petty offenders were released and reintegrated into society. He has consistently advocated the passage of noncustodial bill into law and it’s a pity he’s gone today,” Mr Kwarteng said.
He further noted that Atsu “paid the fines of over 150 prisoners, ensured their release and gave them capital to start a trade.”
“Under our health check series he paid the medical bills of many individuals who are not prisoners – we call them medical prisoners. He paid for surgeries for these individuals as well under our general charity series he also gave trading capital to lots of widows and orphans.
Mr Kwarteng also mentioned that Atsu paid the school fees of many students across the country.
“He did a lot for humanity,” he added.
Christian Atsu met his untimely death in Turkey as a result of the earthquake that struck on February 6, 2023. His mortal remains was returned to the state on Sunday, February 19, 2023. The government of Ghana has pledged to give Atsu a befitting burial.
The Minority Leader in parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, has accused the government of burden shifting instead of the burden sharing it proposed since the country’s economic crisis began.
He said the domestic debt exchange programme is the government’s way of transferring its bankrupt nature to individuals, banks, and Ghanaians at large.
Ato Forson asserted that Ghana is the first country ever to undergo debt restructuring and this is the first time the country has defaulted on its domestic debts.
Speaking on the floor of parliament on February 16, 2023, noted that the country’s current status was and is still an avoidable phase if the government commitment to embark on stringent expenditure cut measures.
“Domestic debt restructuring is like surgery; you don’t do it if you are not sure. There is a good reason no African country has restructured its debts. There is a good reason Ghana has never defaulted on the payment of domestic debts. Today Ghana is the first country ever to restructure its debts. This is the first time we have defaulted on our debt payment,” he stated.
The Minority Leader further stated: “Instead of the government engaging in burden sharing, they are engaging in burden shifting, Burden shifting in the sense that if the country is going on a very catastrophic, it shows by cutting expenditure. But what this government is doing, is shifting the burden to the ordinary Ghanaian. By the time this government will be done with what they are doing, the insolvency we are seeing, the bankrupt Ghana we will now see bankrupt pensioners, bankrupt individuals, and bankrupt rural banks.”
“We are only transferring the bankruptcy from the central government to individuals, unfortunately, our country is simply bankrupt,” he concluded.
Presidential nominee for Ministry of Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, has assured that he will work around the clock to ensure that the ‘dying’ Ghanaian textile industry is brought back to life when given the nod.
Mr Kobina Tahir Hammond gave the assurance when he appeared before the Appointment Committee of Parliament during his vetting today, Monday, February 20, 2023.
The President’s nominee for Trade and Industry’s assurance came on the back of a question asked by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodio constituency in the Greater Accra region, Mr. Nii Lamptey Vanderpuiye.
“Mr. nominee what will you do differently to ensure that the collapsing Ghanaian textile industry is revived when given the nod? The Odododiodio lawmaker asked.
Mr Hammond further explained that the government has already made several attempts to ensure that the textile industry bounced back.
IQAir’s AirVisual, a real-time air quality information platform, says Ghana’s air quality is currently 49.6 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value.
This, the site, attributes to the high concentration of PM2.5 in Accra’s atmosphere.
PM2.5 refers to particles found in the air, including dust, soot, dirt, smoke and liquid droplets with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less.
Data as of 16:04 on Sunday, February 19, 2023
These particles are so small they can get deep into the lungs and into the bloodstream and cause havoc to one’s organs.
It is believed the high concentration of PM2.5 in the air has been compounded by the resurgence of the Harmattan as a result of regional dust storms pushing into Southern Ghana.
Due to the highly damaging effects of pollution exposure on vulnerable members of society, i.e. young children and the elderly, pregnant women, those with heightened sensitivity towards pollution, as well as those with pre-existing illnesses or compromised immune system, the population is advised to wear a mask outdoors, run an air purifier, close windows to avoid dirty outdoor air and avoid outdoor exercise.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Meteorological Agency has forecasted widespread dust haze and dryness across the country on Monday.
This has the propensity to affect visibility, especially in Ghana’s northern parts.
CEO of Charterhouse Multiple Concept Group, Theresa Ayoade, has chronicled events of her past, with a revelation that she was once a salesgirl.
Theresa, who had returned from London, opted to work as a sales girl at Adabraka, a suburb of Accra.
She made the revelation to Roselyn Felli on Prime Morning, Wednesday, February 15. According to Theresa, her father experienced financial challenges, thus could not continue paying her school fees, necessitating a move to Ghana with an intention of getting into employment.
“…I went to the UK to pursue my degree course in economics and my parents were sponsoring me at that time. But my father ran into a few financial challenges, which made it difficult for him to continue paying my fees or sponsoring me…I had to stop. My education was truncated…” she narrated.
Upon her return to Ghana, she realised most of her mates were pursuing further education in universities across the country. A conversation with a friend resulted in an opportunity to work as a sales girl in a shop at Adabraka, selling lighting fittings.
“I called up a friend…he said, oh I have a shop. You can come and sit in my shop. I said okay. It’s better than sitting at home… The shop was selling lighting fittings. So I was a sales girl in Adabraka and that’s how I started my career in Ghana,” she detailed.
A determined Theresa wanted more than staying just a sales girl at a shop. This led to finding bigger opportunities in media such as The Multimedia Group Limited, despite her original ambition of becoming a banker.
She rose through the corporate ladder with her background in sales and emerged the Sales and Marketing Manager at Luv FM located in Kumasi and was later promoted as the Promotions Manager at Joy FM two years after.
“I was the only girl in the sales team and when the opportunity came…., I was the one who was promoted to go to Luv FM as the Sales and Marketing Manager…I worked in Kumasi for about two years and I came back to Joy FM where I was promoted to Promotions Manager…,” she recounted.
She finally left Multimedia Group Limited, met her husband and joined forces together with him to form Charterhouse organisation in 2002.
Theresa Ayoade is currently the CEO of Charterhouse Multiple Concept Group noted for organizing the famous Vodafone Ghana Music Award (VGMA), Night of Thousand Laughs, Miss Malaika and many big events in Ghana.
Aspiring flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kojo Bonsu has called for a massive support for farmers in order to revive the challenged economy.
According to him, the country stands to benefit in the form of sufficient food production, supply and exports.
“You need to make sure that these local government offices will support the farmers. Now, when you support the farmers, we are going to get economic stability because we’re going to have food, and after food, we can use some for production and after that we can look at export, then we’re coming into economic stability,” he said.
Mr. Bonsu plans to drive the growth of the country on industrial farming if he becomes the leader of the country. He seeks to lay focus on cash crops such as; cocoa, cashew, cassava, tomato and maize, laying emphasis on yellow-maize farming, saying it is rear to see farms of that category.
The politician explained that although there are lots of farmers in the country, many of them are unable to embark on large-scale farming due to the lack of support from the government.
He therefore stressed the need for the government to supply the local government with industrial farming machines which can be rented out to farmers to embark on large-scale farming. This, he said helps reduce farmers’ huge expenditure on renting machinery.
Mr. Bonsu is a former Kumasi Mayor, a businessman and has served as a sports administrator for a number of football clubs in the country.
According to him, this is the time for him to run for the high office of the country on the ticket of the NDC.
He will be contesting against, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and possibly, former President John Dramani Mahama who is yet to announce his intent ahead of Election 2024.
While Mr. Bonsu commends the former President for his achievements during his tenure, he believes it is time to do things differently and that the person to do it is him.
MP for Adansi Asokwa and Minister designate for Trades and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, has cautioned Minority Leader Ato Forson to be circumspect about his utterances, especially during his engagement with the media, since he could be taken out of context and misreported.
K.T Hammond was responding to questions at his vetting for the role of Trades Minister when Ato Forson who was a member of the vetting committee asked about a statement a news portal had attributed to him (K.T Hammond).
According to Mr Forson, in the publication on mps.com, dated April 4, 2014, K.T Hammond had accused former President John Mahama of mismanaging the economy back then in 2014.
“Then, you were the Ranking Member of Mines and Energy and during a press conference captured by mps.com, you said: ‘blame Mahama’s incompetence for economic woes,” Ato Forson said.
But in response, Mr Hammond vehemently denied ever making that statement.
“I think Ato has made a quantum leap to where he’s gotten to now. He doesn’t even ascertain whether I wrote it or I didn’t write it. I don’t know what he’s talking about,” K.T Hammond emphasised.
He, thus, warned Mr Forson whom he (K.T Hammond) described as a potential Finance Minister to be wary of his utterances with the media since they could be used against him in the near future.
“I don’t see my language in the kind of things that he said. It is completely unfair for the Minority Leader to question me on a document I have no knowledge about. I know he [Ato Forson] mentioned some portal and they reported something. Be careful, Minority Leader. I’m praying for you sometime later you might want to be Finance Minister. Be careful when you get these portals or news media and you start quoting and you fall in trouble,” he said.
Mr Hammond was appointed by President Akufo-Addo on February 7, 2023, to be at the helm of affairs at the Trade and Industry Ministry. If approved by Parliament after his vetting, Mr Hammond will succeed Alan Kyerematen who resigned earlier this year to pursue his political carrier.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s administration unveiled a divisive measure to revamp the judiciary, demonstrators shut down streets in cities all over Israel on Monday.
Israeli flags that were being distributed by the event’s organisers before it started became a sea as protesters in Jerusalem filled the streets around the Supreme Court and Knesset with Israeli flags.
Several drummers, trumpet blowers, and at least one juggler balancing an Israeli flagpole on his nose were among the protestors, as well as a few dozen ladies wearing long red robes and white head coverings to resemble the handmaids from Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
The Jerusalem demonstration was visibly smaller than one in the same location a week earlier, but still appeared to number in the tens of thousands.
The judicial overhaul bill is due for the first of three readings in parliament, the Knesset, on Monday, despite weeks of protests and calls from Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and the United States to delay the legislation and negotiate.
Netanyahu’s coalition is seeking the most sweeping overhaul of the Israeli legal system since the country’s founding. The most significant changes would allow a simple majority in the Knesset to overturn Supreme Court rulings.
The reforms also seek to change the way judges are selected, and remove government ministries’ independent legal advisers, whose opinions are binding.
US President Joe Biden has expressed concerns over the reforms, saying: “The genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, on an independent judiciary. Building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained.”
On Sunday, Netanyahu defended the judicial reform.
“Israel is a democracy and will remain a democracy, with majority rule and proper safeguards of civil liberties,” he said during an address to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
“All democracies should respect the will of other free peoples, just as we respect their democratic decisions.
“There’s been a lot of rhetoric that is frankly reckless and dangerous, including calls for bloodshed in the streets and calls for a civil war. It isn’t going to happen. There’s not going to be a civil war,” the Prime Minister added.
The popular phrase ‘God giveth, God taketh’ is mostly echoed by Christians after losing their beloved ones.
Derived from the scriptures, specifically Job 1:21, the phrase which originally reads, “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord”, is usually used to console oneself whiles mourning the dead.
In the case of the late Ghanaian footballer, Christian Atsu, the situation isn’t any different as this statement has been heard on the lips of many following his demise.
However, a displeased Majid Michel has admonished individuals, particularly Christians, who have resorted to making such pronouncements to put a stop to it.
According to the actor, it is totally out of place to apply the said phrase in this context, adding that, Christian Atsu died prematurely.
“I don’t believe in ‘you don’t know what will happen tomorrow, God gives and God takes.’ That is a lie!” Majid said. “It was Job that made that statement. That ‘God gives and God takes’ statement, Job said it out of anguish! It was Job’s words and now we have made it a doctrine. It’s false.”
“God doesn’t give and God doesn’t take anything. It’s a lie. Atsu wasn’t supposed to die. It is a premature death, Atsu wasn’t supposed to die. God didn’t take Atsu nowhere,” he told Andy Dosty during a discussion on Daybreak Hitz.
In the wake of the disturbing news of the death of the Black Stars winger, many have wondered why such a good life had been cut short.
Popular media personality, Abeiku Santana, who also seemed confused about the fact that Atsu’s deeds couldn’t guarantee him a long life stated during UTV’s United Showbiz that “In times like this, the testimonies are overwhelming. His colleague footballers, musicians, journalists, prisoners, orphans, family, everyone, everyone is mourning. So, I ask, why do good people never last on earth? Are our good deeds the basis for long life or what exactly is? These are the nagging questions we ask ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Christian Atsu’s mortal remains which arrived in the country on Sunday, February 19, 2023, has been kept at the 37 Military mortuary awaiting burial.
The Bank of Ghana has reiterated that inflation is likely to peak in the first quarter of 2023 and gradually ease thereafter.
However, headline inflation is projected to remain above the upper band of 8±2 percent until the second half of 2025.
In its January 2023 Monetary Policy Report, the Central Bank said its decision to keep the policy rate high was due to the significant upside risks to the inflation outlook.
On the domestic front, the report said the continuous monetary policy tightening and the relative stability in the exchange rate in December 2022 led to some moderation in the pace of monthly price acceleration.
However, the underlying inflationary pressures remain broadened and could be reinforced by additional shocks in the near-term with the announcement of new revenue measures in the 2023 Budget, additional exchange rate pressures, and upward adjustments in utilities and ex-pump prices.
Meanwhile, the bank’s survey of consumers, businesses, and the financial sector showed that inflation expectations eased in December 2022.
This indicated agents’ expectations of moderation in inflationary pressures on the horizon.
In December 2022, monthly inflation started to decline from 8.6% in November to 3.8%, reflecting a slowdown in the rate of increase in inflation.
Month-on-month food inflation also decelerated from 10.4% to 4.1%, while non-food monthly inflation also slowed from 7.2% to 3.6% over the same comparative period.
The president was seen strolling around the city with Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he revealed that America would launch a new $500 million military aid package for Kyiv on Tuesday.
The White House claimed that Mr. Biden would announce additional penalties against Russia as well as military aid for Ukraine, including artillery shells, anti-armour systems, and air surveillance radars.
Ukraine’s president says the pair discussed long-range weapons and described negotiations as “very fruitful”.
Image: Mr Biden and Mr Zelenskyy walk next to Saint Michael’s cathedral in Kyiv
‘Negotiations were very fruitful’
In a statement from the White House, the president said his visit to Kyiv would “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity”.
He added that there will be more sanctions on Russia “against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine”.
“Negotiations today were very fruitful, very important and very crucial,” he said, adding that the results will “definitely” have an impact on the battlefield.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Biden condemns ‘barbaric’ invasion
The White House said it did notify the Kremlin of the president’s visit “some hours” before his departure.
“We did so some hours before his departure for deconfliction purposes. Because of the sensitive nature of those communications I won’t get into how they responded or what the precise nature of our message was,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Trip marks ‘historic moment’
Mr Biden said the package would also provide more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems in Ukraine’s possession.
Speaking from Kyiv, Sky’s security and defence editor Deborah Haynes said the visit is a “historic moment” and came with “extraordinary security lockdowns” with the whole centre of the capital locked down this morning.
The unannounced trip comes after the White House said last week that there were no plans for the president to cross into Ukraine during his visit to Poland this week, to mark the anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
His visit came a day before Mr Putin was due to make a major address, when he is expected to set out Russia’s aims for the second year of the invasion he launched last year.
In December, Mr Zelenskyy visited President Biden at the White House on his first trip out of Ukraine since the war began.
The symbolism of this trip is important but so too is the substance
History was made in Kyiv today with the first visit to Ukraine by Joe Biden almost one year on from a Russian invasion that was designed to topple the government.
In the ultimate snub to Vladimir Putin, the American leader met with his Ukrainian counterpart at the presidential palace before paying tribute to the many tens of thousands of Ukrainian military lives lost fighting to expel Russian invaders.
“Good morning, Mr President” was the greeting in English given by Mr Zelenskyy as Mr Biden emerged from a motorcade of vehicles that brought him to the capital in secrecy and under an unprecedented security lockdown.
A memorial wall to the soldiers who have died fighting Russia’s war, which began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea but was significantly amplified last year with the all-out invasion, frames one side of the square outside St Michael’s monastery.
The US president visited the memorial, where a US and a Ukrainian wreath were laid next to each other.
The symbolism of this trip is important but so too is the substance.
Mr Biden wanted to make clear in his words and pledges, including new weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, that the United States would support Kyiv “for as long as it takes”.
The US and its allies know that the Kremlin believes time is on Russia’s side, suspecting the West will become distracted by other priorities or will fail to make the military investments necessary to keep supplying the Ukrainian military with the hardware it needs to fight.
By visiting Ukraine himself, with the risk that entails, the American president will be hoping he sends a clear message to Mr Putin that US support is here to stay.
Mr Biden’s trip comes as Ukrainian and Russian forces continue to fight for control of the eastern city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
While Mr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine will maintain its months-long defence of the city, he warned “not at any price”.
He told Italian daily Corriere Della Sera: “It is important for us to defend it, but not at any price and not for everyone to die.”
Russian forces have besieged Bakhmut since July and, led by the Russian Wagner Group mercenaries, they have made small gains in nearby villages.
Commercial air passenger travel in the country is seeing greater recovery than previously anticipated since the easing of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions.
Passenger flows (throughput) have increased across the board with domestic travels recording the highest patronage ever seen in the industry according to data sourced from Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
The data showed that domestic throughput hit the highest record of all time with 852,101 passengers in 2022, which is more than 101 per cent above the 423,718 travels recorded in 2020 (COVID era).
It is also 23 per cent rise over the 690,314 seen in 2019, a pre-pandemic era.
It further indicated that international travel jumped from 702,651 in 2020 to 1.8 million last year, representing a 156 per cent surge.
However, the data recorded is 15 per cent below the 2.1 million in 2019, and it is rather indicating a faster than predicted recovery by experts and industry players.
Robust aviation navigation
The Director in-charge of Economic Regulation and Business Development at GCAA, Rev. Stephen Wilfred Arthur, in an interview with the Graphic Business in Accra on February 7, attributed the growth to the investments and robust aviation navigation installations deployed over the years.
He explained that the GCAA has installed modern air navigational equipment at the domestic airports across the country and the Accra Flight Information Region (FIR) to enhance the safety of passengers.
This, he said, had led to minimal incidents, hence passengers’ confidence for flying had increased.
“And based on this there are reliability and availability of several frequencies each day for passengers to choose from.”
“Because of the cost effectiveness and convenience of flying to destinations such as Wa and Tamale instead of self-driving, most people are now opting to travel by air,” he said.
He said that additional route operations by domestic air operators (Wa, Sunyani, and Ho) have also contributed to the growth of the domestic passenger throughput.
Fast recovery
Rev. Arthur noted that a number of factors contributed to the fast recovery experienced after COVID-19 pandemic on the international business; He said an upsurge in patronage of FIFA World Cup in Qatar and yuletide events such as Beyond the Return and Afrochella Music Festival.
He said those activities in the last quarter of 2022 attracted a lot of tourists into the country and that boosted the passenger flow for the period.
He said based on the prospects in the industry some airlines have increased frequencies post-pandemic.
“For instance, British Airways (BA) that used to fly five times a week in 2021 now does daily flights beginning October 2022.
Ethiopian Airline (ET) is also planning to add four frequencies to the already existing daily flights,” he said.
According to him, the growth could also be attributed to the establishment of the National Air Transport Facilitation Committee (NATFC) that has enhanced aircraft, crew, passenger, mail, and cargo facilitation at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), thus an increase in passenger experience.
Growth sustainability
The director noted that there was the need for stakeholders to ensure the availability of a healthy competition among airlines, stimulate new entrants to the domestic market and eliminate monopoly on the regional and international routes.
According to him, continuous improvement in passenger experience at KIA and other domestic airports (improved facilities – Tamale and Kumasi, quick resolution of passenger complaints) was crucial to further facilitate the recovery process.
“There is also the need to extend the operating hours for domestic airline operations at the regional airports,” he added.
Expert opinion
An international aviation expert, Mr Sean Mendis, said globally the outlook for the aviation industry was positive as airlines continue to return to their 2019 peak levels with more barriers to be eliminated to smooth international travel.
He predicted that the industry would this year experience within 10 per cent growth of the previous peaks.
“The outlook in Ghana is also solid, with 2022 having already delivered an all-time record in terms of domestic passenger numbers.
The only concern however is the softening of domestic demand slightly in the fourth quarter of 2022 as the economic situation remained uncertain and foreign exchange rates were extremely volatile.”
“If the economy and exchange rates remain stable through 2023, we can possibly see the domestic flow numbers crossing the one million targets for the first time,” he added.
Industry performance
Further analysis of the data released by the GACL shows fluctuations for both international and domestic air traffic.
Passenger throughput on the international front has risen gradually from 592,276 in 2000 to 2.1 million in 2019, before falling to 702,651 in 2020.
In less than three years, the passenger flow has increased to 1.8 million in 2022, with indications to grow further in the coming years, as the industry is dominated by 22 international carriers.
Also, from 85,166 passengers in 2007, the number of domestic air travellers rose to 778,466 in 2013, before declining to 415,158 in 2018.
The industry, which recorded 690,314 passengers in 2019, experienced a drop to 423,718 in 2020 (COVID era), before rising again to 722,721 in 2021.
The number increased to 852,101 last year.
The travellers were airlifted by Africa World Airlines (AWA) and Passion Air to and from Accra to the six regions with airports — Northern (Tamale), Ashanti (Kumasi), Western (Takoradi), Volta (Ho), Bono (Sunyani) and Upper West (Wa).
Kumasi processed 476,266 passengers, representing 55.89 per cent of the total throughput, while Tamale handled 217,958 passengers, representing 25.58 per cent of throughput, with Takoradi processing 123,930 passengers, representing 14.54 per cent.
Wa managed 25,875 passengers (three per cent); Sunyani took 7,103 (0.8 per cent) while Ho handled 969 (0.1) travellers.
Minister-designate for Trade and Industry, KT Hammond, has disclosed that he will revitalise small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to make them afloat and serve as the bedrock of the nation’s economic fundamentals.
Kwabena Tahiru Hammond appearing before the vetting committee of parliament said a white paper already existed at the Ministry that deals with how to properly define and deal with these enterprises’ technical and economic aspects, and he plans to carry them out.
“There exists some white paper to deal with the technical and economic aspects of these enterprises,” he said.
“Industrialisation is the way to go, all countries who have made it, Industrialised and we must do same, if we had industrialised long ago who would not be in this current situation we found ourselves now, so we must industrialise,” he stated.
KT Hammond also promised to put a stop to the scourge of Nigerians and Chinese taking over the country’s retail markets.
Ghanaian political analyst, Kwame A Plus has shared a message from the late Christian Atsu, who scolded him for being late to a meeting they had scheduled.
A Plus took to Instagram to reveal the message, where he described Christian as a principled man who left their scheduled meeting after A Plus was five minutes late.
He admitted that he felt ashamed after receiving the message from Christian but also acknowledged that the footballer was right for what he did.
“He sent me this message because I was about five (5) minutes late to a meeting. When I got there, I was informed that he had left not long ago.
“I tried calling, but he would not answer. About an hour later, I received this message from him. I was so ashamed of myself. He gave it to me “straight straight”.
“Atsu was a very nice but principled person. Right is right, and wrong is wrong; irrespective of his relationship with you. Fare thee well, brother,” he mourned.
The outspoken political commentator eulogized Christian, saying he was a principled person who stood up for what was right and wrong, regardless of his relationship with others.
Christian Atsu died tragically on February 6, 2023, in a catastrophic earthquake that affected southern, central, and western Turkey, as well as western Syria.
The earthquake caused severe damage and tens of thousands of casualties in the region, including Christian, who was among the thousands of people trapped under the rubble.
After several weeks, his body was found and transported to Ghana on February 19, 2023.
A Plus expressed his deep condolences over the loss of Christian Atsu, an exemplary person who stood for integrity and principles.
