A new survey conducted by Global Info Analytics, a polling company in Ghana, has revealed that 71% of citizens are of the view that, Ghana is headed in the wrong direction.
On the question of whether the NPP can “break the eight”, 24% of voters believe the party can “break-the-eight” whilst 59% said they can’t and 17% had no opinion.
The poll shows the president’s job approval rating has made a significant recovery from 26% in October, leaping to 32% in January 2023, whilst his disapproval declined sharply from 69% in October to 59% in January 2023.
The vice president enjoys 32% approval and 58% disapproval. In the case of Alan Kyerematen, 35% of voters approved of his performance as Trade and Industry minister whilst 45% disapprove of his performance.
Sudan took an early deserved lead in the 31st minute through Al Gozoli Nooh but Walkner Annor’s side kept pushing for that equaliser and eventually got it in the third minute of extratime before the break through Konadu Yiadom who was well-positioned to put the ball past goalkeeper Ali Abdalla Aboeshren.
The Falcons of Jediane started the second half on a high note but it was Ghana that played with more preciseness in the pursuit of another goal.
Ghana were rewarded for their efforts when captain Daniel Afriyie was brought down in the box and he made no mistake to convert from the spot and hand his side a 2-1 lead in the 65th minute.
Sudan’s Ahmed Adam Ahmed could have equalized from just outside the box but he sent his freekick attempt way off the mark much to the frustration of his teammates in the 80th minute as the pressure continued to mount.
Four minutes later, Yasir Mozamil Mohamed had his shot at goal cleared off the line as Ghana continued to showcase their focus late in the game as they tried to protect their lead.
Nooh could have made it a brace, but his effort was blocked by the well-positioned Ghanaian goalkeeper Ibrahim Danlad who was busy on the night eventually making three crucial saves for Ghana.
As Sudan continued with their pursuit of that equalizer, Sudan’s Salaheldin Mahmoud Nemer thought he had put the ball in the back of the net but Chadian referee Alhadji Allaou Mahamat checked with VAR to deny the goal in the 96th minute.
A minute later, Afriyie was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Walieldin Khdir Safour and in a crazy turnaround of events, substitute Seidu Suraj connected to a Jonah Attuquaye into the box to make it 3-1 for Ghana and seal the victory for the Galaxies in the 98th minute.
This is Ghana’s first win at this year’s edition and has sent them in second position with three points behind Madagascar’s six after two match days.
The 650,00-barrel-per-day refinery is slated to be commissioned before the end of the first quarter of 2023, and could give a shot in the arm to Dangote’s fortune.
According to insiders at the Dangote Group who spoke to Billionaires.Africa on the condition of anonymity, the Nigerian billionaire plans to list Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd. by the first quarter of 2024 at a market capitalization of anywhere between $20 and $25 billion.
Dangote became the first African in modern history to lay claim to a $20-billion fortune in 2013, nearly 10 years ago, when the market capitalization of his cement business crossed the $20-billion market cap mark.
According to figures tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Dangote, who is presently worth $19.1 billion, ranks as the world’s 82nd richest man. The billionaire derives the bulk of his net worth from his 86-percent stake in publicly traded Dangote Cement, as well as from other holdings in salt and sugar manufacturing companies, among other assets.
With a net addition of at least $18 billion expected from the $19-billion integrated petrochemical refinery complex minority-owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Dangote is expected to see his wealth increase from $19 billion to well over $30 billion.
Dangote is the founder and chairman of the Dangote Group, a leading manufacturing conglomerate on the African continent’s sugar, salt, oil, fertilizer, and packaged food production.
What you should know about Aliko Dangote’s oil refinery
The Dangote Petrochemical Complex is made up of the Dangote Oil Refinery and the Dangote Petrochemical Plant. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery is located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, to the southeast of the Lekki Free Trade Zone (FTZ) on a land area of about 2,635 hectares (six times the size of Victoria Island).
In August 2021, the Nigerian government approved the sum of $2.76 billion for the state-owned petroleum company, the NNPC, to acquire a 20-percent minority equity stake in the Dangote Refinery.
The state-of-the-art facility will not only enhance the refining capacity of Nigeria but also strengthen the country’s position as a major player in the global oil and petrochemical industry.
The official commissioning date of the refinery has not been announced yet. However, the group has announced that operations at the refinery are expected to commence this year.
According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Dangote Oil Refinery will account for more than half of Africa’s medium-term refining additions, which are estimated at 1.2 million barrels per day; the refinery, with a capacity of 650, 000 barrels per day, is the largest of all the refinery additions expected across Africa in the medium term, according to OPEC.
The $19-billion project is a strategic move by Dangote and the Nigerian government to strengthen the country’s downstream industry and become a net exporter of refined petroleum products and petrochemicals by 2026.
The anticipated launch of the refinery is poised to not only fulfill Nigeria’s entire demand for refined products, but also generate a surplus for export, thereby establishing a market worth $11 billion annually for Nigerian petroleum products.
The complex will also produce 4 million metric tonnes of jet fuel per day, 65 million liters of premium motor spirits (petrol), 15 million liters of diesel, and 3 billion standard cubic feet of gas.
The sick bondholder told JoyNews that he depends on the bond returns and that if he doesn’t get anything at the end of the month, he won’t have anything to live on.
He claims that because he is concerned about how he will pay for his meds and other daily expenses, the uncertainties surrounding the Domestic Debt Exchange Program fill him with fear and anxiety.
“I gave the money to the Ghana Commercial Bank so they’ll give me the money before I come. I’m going to stay there.
“If they say the money is not there, I’m going to stay there. I’m going to stay there until they carry me wherever they want to carry me because I cannot walk myself so they’ll carry me.
“Wherever they want to carry me they have to carry me and go. That’s the only thing I can do. I cannot fight them also”, he said.
Peter Kojo Nyansepe is one of many retirees watching on with anxiety as the Ministry of Finance rolls out the DDEP.
As part of conditionalities to achieve the IMF bailout, the government has recommended that all benefit due bondholders in 2023 not be paid.
Per the arrangement, the payment of the benefits will resume in 2024 at the rate of 5%.
This arrangement has been widely criticized with critics saying that the government is worsening the situation of the already burdened Ghanaians.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has recovered from his illness-related absence. This week, the winger on loan from Chelsea returned to training with Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Furthermore, head coach Xabi Alonso did not say if the winger will play in the impending Rhenish derby against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday evening.
Callum Hudson-Odoi did not play in Bayer Leverkusen’s friendly match against FC Copenhagen on 15th January.
The 22-year-old has made nine appearances and assisted one for Bayer Leverkusen in the Germany Bundesliga this season. He joined the Bundesliga club on On 30 August 2022 from Premier League club Chelsea on loan.
He scored his first goal for Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-2 away draw at Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on 26 October.
The Wandsworth-born winger is likely to move to another club this summer permanently according to reports in Germany. Bayer 04 Leverkusen will evaluate his performance and make a decision at the end of the season.
The traders along the northern frontiers of the country expressed concern during the GSA’s routine interactions with them regarding the processing of paperwork, Letters of Commitment (LOC), numerous checks and extortions, decent places of convenience, and armed robberies by border agents.
Following up on their complaints, the GSA met with the cross-border traders, most of whom were women, on January 7, 2023, to inform them of the findings of the inquiries made by its Shipper Complaints and Support Unit at the Paga Border and to provide guidance for the future.
The traders were also informed that certain payments made at the border were in respect of duty for tomatoes and Phyto-sanitary certificates at Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD).
They were advised to collect official receipts for payments they make and report payments for which no receipts were issued for further action.
On the matter of an alleged payment of 3,000–10,000 CFA at the Burkina Faso side by the traders, it was found that the illicit act was attributable to the overloading of trucks with casual labour who assist with the picking of tomatoes at the farms.
The GSA advised the traders to avoid overloading the trucks to save cost.
The traders were also encouraged to continue to liaise with the Police to escort them when they arrived late in the night.
An officer of the Tamale Branch of the GSA, Mr. Abdul-Karim Mushin, encouraged the women in cross-border trade who are yet to register with the GSA’s Regional Shipper Committees to do so.
He said this would enable the GSA to gather enough data on their operations, and thereby develop programmes and policies to support their efforts geared toward socio-economic growth.
According to her, they relied on the seed money the government finds from time to time without knowing the exact amount the state said it will give as seed money.
“I’m still looking for it, I think that’s the question we need to go and ask–Since the state said it will give us seed money, what percentage is it giving? …No, we were not told, we were just told seed money, and we have relied on the seed money the government will find from time to time. We have not been told the exact amount the seed money is,” citinewsroom quoted Joyce Aryee as having said.
Responding to the question of how the board of trustees was operating without the knowledge of government’s financial commitment, she noted that in such instances, they assume that they are supposed to raise the total budget and consider “the other one [government’s seed money] as a gift. It will be wonderful when the other person [government] brings his gift, otherwise, I’m building [the project without it]”.
“The project was never meant to be fully financed by the state and when we were called, that is what we were told. The state will do certain things and we the members of the board were to make sure that we raise the money to build the Cathedral. It was never meant to be fully financed by the state,” Rev. Joyce Aryee clarified.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on March 16 appointed a 13-Member Board of Trustees to spearhead Ghana’s National Cathedral.
At their inauguration at the Jubilee House, the President said the 13-member Board of Trustees will be in charge of the National Cathedral when it is completed. The members are:
1. Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah, former Chairman of the Church of Pentecost – Chairperson
2. Archbishop Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop, Cape Coast – Vice Chairman
3. Most Rev. Bishop Justice Ofei Akrofi, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus – Member
4. Rt. Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church – Member
5. Most Rev T. K. Awotwi Pratt, Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church – Member
6. Rev Prof Cephas Omenyo, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church – Member
7. Pastor Mensa Otabil, General Overseer of International Central Gospel Church – Member
8. Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, Presiding Archbishop and General Overseer of Action Chapel International – Member
9. Rev Dr Joyce Aryee, Executive Director, Salt and Light Ministries – Member
10. Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, Presiding Bishop, Lighthouse Group of Churches – Member
11. Rev Eastwood Anaba, Founder and President of Eastwood Anaba Ministries – Member
12. Rev Victor Kusi-Boateng, Founder of Power Chapel Worldwide – Member/Secretary
13. Rev Dr Frimpong Manso, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God – Member
At the National Cathedral Secretariat, there is an appointed Executive Director known as Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah with two (2) representatives of the United States.
However, in August 2022 Bishop Dag Heward-Mills resigned as a member of the trustee.
He claimed that if young people made an intentional effort to acquire French in order to compete in the trading world, they would get the most out of the AfCFTA.
The 74th Annual New Year School and Conference, hosted by the School of Continuing and Distance Education, College of Education, University of Ghana, was held in Accra on Thursday, and Mr. Owusu-Achaw provided the advise.
“Positioning the African Market for Sustainable Economic Development Through AfCFTA” is the conference’s theme.
The session, dubbed: “Youth School,” brought together selected tertiary schools and secondary schools to learn about AfCFTA and contribute to the national discourse.
“You need to avoid gossiping and start thinking about business opportunities and take advantage of AfCFTA, which is the driver of Africa’s economy,” he said.
He urged the youth to be creative and venture into entrepreneurship to be self-reliant, adding that ” there are so many opportunities in the agricultural sector”.
He called on the youth to tap into the opportunities offered by trading within African countries, because they were the future generations who would transform the socio-economic development of the continent.
Research revealed that under AfCFTA, young people will be able to create 450 million jobs in Africa, contributing over 60 per cent to the continent’s Gross Domestic Product.
AfCFTA is expected to create a single market for goods and services for almost 1.3 billion people across Africa, including women and youth.
Dr Fareed K. Arthur, National AfCFTA Coordinator Office, urged the youth to take advantage of AfCFTA by being innovative and creating software applications for online trading.
He said Ghana, as the host country for the AfCFTA Secretariat, was positioned to become the commercial capital of Africa and determined to leverage trade and investment opportunities of the single trade initiative.
Mr Andrews Dotsey, Director, 74th Annual News Year School and Conference, said the mission and vision of the youth school were to provide a platform to harness the potential of the youth by inspiring them to contribute to national issues.
Bright Tetteh, a second-year student at Presbyterian Senior High School, Legon, said he had learned how to develop an entrepreneurial business to improve his livelihood.
Ms Theodora Fantevi, a third-year student at Accra Girls Senior High School, said, “I have learned entrepreneurship skills and how to secure my intellectual property.”
Since its inception in 1948, the Conference has been the flagship programme of the University and attracts people from all walks of life to deliberate on topical issues of national and international interest.
The recommendations inform policy decisions and directions in the country.
The home-based national team came from behind to defeat Sudan in the second Group C game at the tournament in Constantine.
Ghana inflicted a 3-1 win over Sudan to boost their chances of progressing to the knockout phase of the competition.
Sudan took the lead on the half-hour mark through Hussein Mohammed but goals from Konadu Yiadom, Afriyie Barnieh, and Suraj Seidu were enough for the Black Galaxies to secure victory.
Danlad Ibrahim made some crucial saves to keep Black Galaxies firmly in control of the game.
Danlad Ibrahim took to his official Instagram page to tweet: “Yesterday night was a great Feeling Great come back and Qualification to the Quarter finals We thank all Ghanaians for the support Unto the next game”
David Abagna was named man of the match at the end of the crucial encounter with Sudan. The Black Galaxies is second in Group C and has progressed to the next stage of the tournament.
“The Role of IPAs in Facilitating Intra African Trade” will be the main topic of discussion at the inaugural summit.
The important role investment promotion agencies play in fostering intra-African trade will be discussed by the heads and representatives of the invited African investment promotion agencies, along with colleagues from the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), business and political leaders.
The government’s compensation package, in the opinion of the landlords whose properties have been impacted by the Lake Road construction, is insufficient and cannot be compared to the price of a home in Ghana right now.
Because of this, the impacted landlords want the government to enhance the compensation.
“We want them to add more to the compensation because in this Ghana, inflation has gone up. The only thing we need government to help us [with] is that, they must increase the compensation or to set up a committee, to sit down and negotiate with us,” one said.
According to the landlords, the notice is also too short compared to the amount being paid them as compensation.
They therefore want the initial 10 percent being paid as compensation by the contractor to be increased to at least two-thirds of the amount of the compensation.
An affected landlord noted: “Even if they pay half or two thirds… So we’re pleading with government to intervene so that everything will go smoothly,” one of the affected landlords said.
“Because of the date, the money is too small, I didn’t collect it. Because the notice is too short, they expect me to move out right after taking the money, even when you’re renting a room and you’re given a notice of eviction, if you don’t find a place, you can still negotiate for more time, but why is it that they expect us to move out immediately so demolishing can take place? It does not work that way.”
A demolishing exercise has to be carried out in order to make way for the construction of the road, hence efforts to have the owners of the affected houses compensated to make way for the project.
The Paris Club members are ready to take the first step toward forming a creditor committee, an official of the club told Reuters.
Ghana last week requested a restructuring of debt it owes to other governments, becoming the fourth country after Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia to do so under a G20 Common Framework.
The programme, which was launched in 2020, was supposed to streamline the process of coordinating among creditor governments the restructuring of low-income countries’ debts after the pandemic.
However, progress has proven glacial for the first cases, a situation Western countries say is in part due to a lack of restructuring experience by China, a non-Paris Club G20 creditor that has become a major lender in recent years.
“There is a commitment by the leaders to form the creditor committee, so it’s a question of time. We know that all the G20 members are committed to undertake the debt treatment under the Common Framework,” the Paris Club official told journalists.
The official requested they not be named to speak freely about the restructuring situation.
Forming a creditor committee took a couple of months for previous cases, however, the official said the Paris Club members were all ready to do so for Ghana and hoped it could be done in a month.
The official said Ghana’s case was less complex than Zambia, whose case the official said was progressing after struggling since it became the first African country to default after the pandemic.
“We think that the process will become smoother and smoother on the basis of the previous cases,” the official said, adding that Ghana’s authorities had sought assurances its case would be dealt with in a “timely manner”.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Ing Ebenezer Kofi Essienyi, has called on Ecowas Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) to speed up the approval process of the ECOWAS Regional Transmission Tariff so that all stakeholders, especially transit countries involved in the regional trade in electricity can be appropriately compensated.
According to him, the absence of an approved transmission tariff has created bottlenecks which impede power trade flows in the region.
Ing. Essienyi appealed while receiving a four-member delegation from ERERA led by its Chairman, Mr Laurent Tossou, who paid him a courtesy call on 16th January 2023, at the GRIDCo headquarters in Tema, Ghana’s industrial city.
Other members of ERERA’s delegation were Regulatory Council Member, Dr Haliru Dikko, the Head of Administration and Finance, Mr. Ofosuhene Apenteng-Takyiako, and Communication Officer, Mr. Uwem Thompson.
Earlier, Mr. Tossou informed GRIDCo’s Chief Executive of the imminent launch of the second phase of the regional electricity market and requested a deeper collaboration with the company, considering its experience and strategic relevance to the development of the market.
Both Heads of Institutions discussed issues of mutual interests relating to the power sector in the region.
These included renewable energy, harmonization of national legal texts, data collection, infrastructural challenges and capacity-building programmes for power sector practitioners.
ERERA is mandated to regulate cross-border trade in electricity in West Africa.
As part of its functions, ERERA is to approve critical documents for the development of the regional power market.
GRIDCo is to develop and promote the national grid to ensure competition in Ghana’s wholesale power market.
Its specific functions include ensuring the transmission of electricity from wholesale suppliers, that is generating companies, to bulk customers; providing fair and non-discriminatory transmission services to all power market participants; as well as acquiring and managing assets, facilities and systems required to transmit electrical energy.
This comes after the government on January 16, 2023, issued a third delay for the deadline as part of efforts to reach an understanding with those impacted bondholders who have openly stated their discontent with the DDEP.
“No, I don’t think so. I’m confident that we’ll get there. You know we have done the staff level agreement as you know, we met with the Paris Club membership and we have given them till end of February for us to go through what we call the common framework or some version of it but that will be facilitated, and then we expect them to go to board in Washington in March,” Ofori-Atta explained.
He continued, “So really, we don’t have that type of time, because as you know, usually the first quarter is when we would have gone to the international capital market for our usual Eurobond issuance”.
“Now that market is not there for us this year, maybe even next year, an agreement in the fund programme is what one is using to be able to give the necessary comfort that is required,” the Finance Minister stressed.
Ken Ofori-Atta further said any further delays to the DDEP could pose a serious risk to the ailing Ghanaian economy which continues to suffer various setbacks.
The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) has safely and completed the valve replacement works at its Takoradi Regulating and Metering (R&M) Station and has resumed gas transportation to customers in Tema.
WAPCo, on January 12, 2023, shut down the Takoradi facility to allow for the replacement of some critical valves at the facility aimed at securing the safety and integrity of the Takoradi Station.
The replacement exercise was projected to last for 10 days.
However, a statement issued by WAPCo on Friday, 20th January 2023, said the project team worked collaboratively with their contractors and stakeholders to ensure that the shutdown activities were safely and seamlessly executed and completed days ahead of schedule.
“The early completion of the works is an outcome of the review and optimization of the execution strategy by WAPCo’s team and the Contractor.
“WAPCo is grateful to the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA), Ministry of Energy (MoE), the Ghana Grid Company Ltd (GRIDCo), the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana National
Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), the Electricity
Company of Ghana (ECG) and other key stakeholders for their support to minimise the impact of the shutdown on communities as well as the safe and successful execution of this project,” the company said.
Popular afrobeat singer, Tiwa Savage, has shared her thoughts on why Nigerian artistes are performing incredibly well globally and are breaking barriers in the industry.
According to the songstress, Nigerian artistes are tough and naturally hardworking.
Tiwa said: “I don’t know, Nigerians are really … we are tough, we are hustlers. And I think because the genre is called afrobeat, the godfather of afro beat is Fela Kuti so maybe that’s another reason why.”
Speaking further about how she would like to be remembered, she noted that she would like to be remembered as a flagbearer, and an African woman who did not give up when she was turned down.
The unidentified police officer was caught by the chief of the community, only referred to as Daasebre in the video.
In a video credited to Angel TV, the police officer is initially seen and heard pleading with the chief and some men he appeared on the scene with.
But in a very quick turn of events, the police officer switched moods after he had been confronted with the facts of having been caught red-handed.
This also follows an attempt by the policeman to deny having been smoking ‘weed’ when he was caught.
“That what? What kind of big offense are you talking about? So will you arrest me, or add this one to me? What are you telling me? I don’t go that way? Do you know where I’m from and the work I came to do here? Or do you think I’m only at the barrier? And you are telling me that you’ll arrest me?
“Are you done arresting the folks in this village?” the visibly angry policeman burst out.
Expressing shock at his reaction, the chief, in a very calm way, addressed the questions of the policeman by asking him if he was aware of the directives he (the chief) had issued in his town.
“Hear me; the people I am walking with are with the National Security… the statement you made that ‘have we finished arresting the people of this community’ is very unfortunate. Do you know the instructions I have issued in this community?” he quizzed the policeman.
The policeman then pleaded for mercy, acknowledging to the chief that he was at fault, while apologising for the way he spoke earlier.
The chief of the community has since vowed to ensure that he reports the behaviour of the policeman to the Inspector General of Police, COP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.
Barcelona have confirmed they have the option to purchase Yannick Carrasco as part of the deal that saw Memphis Depay join Atletico Madrid.
Atleti announced the signing of Depay on Friday on a two-and-a-half-year deal after Diego Simeone’s side agreed to pay Barca €3million up front with a possible €1m in add-ons.
LaLiga leaders Barca included a non-compulsory purchase option for Atletico winger Carrasco, who is in his seventh season as an Atleti player, either side of a short stint in China.
Reports from Spain suggest Barcelona will have to hand over €20m should they wish to sign the 29-year-old Belgium international.
Carrasco has played in 23 of Atletico’s 26 games this season, 15 of those starts, and has the fifth-most goal involvements with five – four goals of his own and one assist.
Atleti have already allowed Joao Felix to join Chelsea on loan for the rest of the season during the January transfer window, while Matheus Cunha made the switch to Wolves.
Graham Potter is confident Chelsea have turned a corner ahead of Saturday’s crucial Premier League clash against Liverpool.
The Blues travel to Anfield to face Jurgen Klopp’s side, also recently out of form, with both clubs hovering in mid-table and facing a tall order to secure a top-four finish and Champions League football.
Victory against Crystal Palace last Sunday brought an end to a three-game losing streak across all competitions for Chelsea and represented only their second Premier League win since mid-October.
The club have continued to spend heavily in the transfer market in a bid to improve their position and head coach Potter feels better times are on the horizon, though they need to make an impression on their trip to Merseyside.
“The win has been important for us, but it’s just a win. We have to go to Liverpool next and back it up,” Potter said.
“I’m confident, but I respect Liverpool and Anfield. It’s a tough place to go at any point, a fantastic football club. Jurgen [Klopp] is a top manager and [they are] a top team, but we’ve come through a tough spell.
“Players are coming back, new players are arriving. There is a buzz at the training ground.”
With the Blues having suffered an early exit from the FA Cup, Potter will have a fortnight after the Liverpool game to work with his squad ahead of their next fixture against Fulham, which he feels can make a big difference.
“We have two weeks, it’s an important period for us when you consider we have new faces and players coming back from injury,” Potter said. “It’s an important period. We’ll use the time as best as we can.”
Bristol City is reluctant to sell star striker Antoine Semenyo in the ongoing winter transfer window due to hamstring injuries to both Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway.
Selling Antoine Sememyo will leave Bristol City light in attack and they might not get a replacement in to boost their front line.
Another factor is The Cider Army is six points ahead of the bottom three, and losing a player of Semenyo’s quality would further aggravate the squad’s weaknesses.
Semenyo’s form has improved significantly since the turn of the year, with three goals and an assist in his last four games.
He went 17 games without a goal earlier in the season after missing pre-season due to a shin injury incurred on international duty but has shown flashes in recent weeks that he is very much coming back to his best.
Antoine Semenyo’s Cider Army contract expires in 18 months. Bristol City triggered the one-year option in his contract last month to provide them with financial assurance in the future.
Brands and Communications Director of Asante Kotoko, David Obeng Nyarko has revealed that they need to bring in new players to strengthen their squad.
The Porcupine Warrior have not lived up to expectations in the ongoing Ghana Premier League campaign despite being in the top four clubs after 13 games. They have won just one of their last 7 games with 5 draws and a loss.
The defending league champions currently sit 3rd position with 21 points so far.
Speaking to Kumasi-based Angel FM, the communications director of the reigning Ghana Premier League holders disclosed his outfit will augment their squad with new signings.
“Asante Kotoko is looking forward to beef up any department in this transfer window” he said.
The Porcupine Warriors has already captured former Medeama midfielder Rashid Nortey on a two and half year deal.
Despite the calls from a section of the public who have always urged celebrities to show less of their wealth and properties on social media, Ghanaian rapper Oseikrom Sikanii has announced that he will continue to live largely.
The ‘Daze’ crooner, in an interview with Paula Amma Broni, maintained that his lavish lifestyle, which includes flaunting money and rocking designer items, isn’t meant to pressurize the youth.
Oseikrom Sikanii told GhanaWeb that he has always been that guy and won’t stop now to please critics.
“Those who know can attest that I live a lavish life. I am ‘preman’ and before social media, we were living. I am telling you the truth, I can post an old picture from 15 years ago and I still look the same. Way back, I used my school fees to shop for items. I have always been a fashionista, those who envy me term it as a show-off, but it is my lifestyle.
“When I post my designer item and reveal the price, some people criticise it. I love it, that is why I spent money on it,” the rapper disclosed when GhanaWeb caught up with him at Black Sherif’s Mozama Disco concert.
Oseikrom Sikanii also urged music lovers to support his craft and prepare for his next album, which features surprise artistes.
“I have been releasing bangers, and I see the numbers are running…I will release my album in early 2023. I am just making a few corrections and tightening things up. The album got a lot of ghosts on it,” he teased.
Shatta Wale has reacted to Sarkodie’s latest project with the legendary reggae artiste, Bob Marley.
Although the Jamaican musician is late, his team made a decision to release a posthumous version of his smash hit ‘Stir It Up’ with The Wailers.
Featured in the remix, released today, Friday, January 20, 2023, is Sarkodie, whose verse has since stirred massive reactions from individuals on social media.
Shatta Wale has also shared his opinion about the project but in a sarcastic manner.
In what looked like mockery, the dancehall musician during a discussion on LuvFM’s Drive Time said;
“We’ve heard Sarkodie has featured Bob Marley. It’s so beautiful. At least we’ve had someone who can feature a ghost, we should praise him.”
Shatta Wale said Ghanaians are still concerned about the ‘Meek Mill – Jubilee House’ saga instead of focusing on ‘Sarkodie’s ghost feature.’
“We are not even talking about that, its Meek Mill we are concerned about.”
Rauf Salifu has revealed the reason he joined Selangor FC in Malaysia club
The Ghanaian youngster joined Selangor FC on a permanent deal
The 20-year-old completed his transfer from Accra Lions to Selangor FC on Friday, becoming the third Ghanaian to join after former teammates Alex Agyarkwa and Richmond Ankrah who have all joined for the 2023 season.
He penned a two-year deal and is expected to play a huge role for the club.
After his unveiling, Salifu said, “This is my first time in Asia. The weather in Malaysia is similar to Ghana, so I’m sure this will help me to adapt quickly here.
“I see that Selangor FC has a lot of supporters, which is one of the reasons why I chose to come here. For that, I will try to make them proud of this club and not let them down,” he told Selangor FC media.
Salifu had an amazing loan spell with Kansas City II in the MLS Next Pro League of the United States.
He scored 6 goals and provided one assist in 17 appearances. He scored 4 in a single game against North Texas SC.
Salifu played for the Lions from 2018 until 2021 where he managed to score a record number of goals in the 2020-2021 campaign. He scored 21 out of 58 goals by the Lions in 28 matches.
His goals helped the team to qualify for the Ghana Premier League from the country’s second-tier league.
Member of Parliament for the Nhyiaeso Constituency, Dr. Stephen Amoah, in June 20, 2022 noted that government was working assiduously to address the rising cost of living in the country.
He called on stakeholders to help government deal with the issue.
Read the full story originally published on June 20, 2022 by www.ghanaweb.com.
Member of Parliament for the Nhyiaeso Constituency, Dr. Stephen Amoah, has stated that in his opinion, government is working to address the current rising cost of living in the country.
He also added that these issues should not be tackled politically.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, the legislator intimated that Ghana’s problems have compounded for almost 40 years thus government alone cannot solve them.
“The problem we’re having today, any honest person will tell you, it’s not today’s issue. It’s been with us [for] years. So, I’m preaching to every stakeholder who has what it takes to come on board and let us all make sure [to help]. Sometimes we get it wrong and right, [but]we’re all helping.”
“At present, it’s on the government, and I don’t think the government is sleeping. The fact is, [we] have 40-year-old problems”, he said.
Dr Amoah added, “If we sat there and our population size has grown from Nkrumah’s time from about 5 million to about 31 million; if you have a situation where just close to 7% [of people] directly in the formal sector pay taxes, and we’re having negative effective tax wage, and these problems have been compounded for years, the government alone [cannot solve them]”.
On the side of government’s spending, the MP believes more could be done.
“There are basic issues we need to check such as our discretionary spending and as government; we should be able to now go down. Even though the government said we’ve cut down by 20%, well accepted. But we can do more”, he added.
The latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service showed that Ghana’s inflation hit 27.6% in May 2022. This resulted in a hike in the prices of goods and services.
Ghanaians are lamenting the high cost of living in the country since their incomes have remained unchanged.
Ghana FA Communications Director Henry Asante Twum has revealed that over 1000 coaches have applied to take up the role of Black Stars coach.
The Ghana FA has been on a hunt for a new coach following the resignation of Otto Addo as head coach of the Black Stars after the World Cup.
As reported earlier this month, the FA had received over 60 applications from expatriate coaches for the vacant job.
But the Spokesperson for the domestic football governing body has confirmed that over 1000 applications have been received so far for the vacant job.
“We haven’t made any shortlist and at the right time we will”, Henry said on State of the Affairs on GHOne TV.
He added that the Ghana FA will appoint a competent coach irrespective of race or color.
“The job is opened for all. Once you are a competent coach.
“There is pressure to appoint a competent coach.We are not looking at race or color but just a competent coach”
Henry Asante Twum confirmed that over 1000 applications have been received so far for the vacant job.
“Over 1000 coaches have applied for the job. We keep getting applications each and every day”, Henry Asante Twum disclosed on State of Affairs on GHOne TV.
The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Emmanuel Nii Ashie Moore, has donated GHC 50,000 towards the payment of rent arrears of the party’s Regional Office at South La, in Accra.
The donation, which he said was from his personal resources, was a contribution to defray the legacy debt of the office rent amounting to US$38,000.
“As we speak, I have donated an amount of GHS50,000 towards the settlement of part of the rent arrears of our regional office,” Nii Ashie Moore told journalists during an interview in Accra.
The donation came days after Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin had donated GHS100,000 for defraying part of the rent arrears.
“We recently received similar support from the Speaker of Parliament who happened to be one of our Fathers of our Party, the Great NDC,” Nii Ashie Moore said.
He gave an assurance to lead in building a regional party office during his four-year term as Regional Chairman.
He said: “I’m assuring our party supporters that by the end of my four-year mandate as Regional Chairman, we should have our own office, built for our activities. We cannot keep on spending this huge sum of money renting. So, by 2024-2025, we should start something for our office.
“Even if I don’t complete it before my mandate ends, at least, there will be a building site for that purpose.”
According to NDC Greater Accra Regional Chairman, plans were far advanced to put up a permanent Regional NDC office to avoid the future occurrence of such rent arrears.
He expressed his commitment to ensuring that the party has a place conducive for meetings to prepare for the 2024 general election.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado-Ketan, Mr Joe Ghartey, has officially informed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of his intention to contest in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential primaries slated for the latter parts of 2023.
Mr Ghartey who was a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice paid a courtesy call on the President at the Jubilee House, in Accra, to inform him of his Presidential ambition.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Ghartey said the call afforded him the opportunity to, among other things, thank the President for the confidence reposed in him during his first term of office when he found him worthy of serving as the Minister of Railways Development.
Mr Ghartey assured the President that he and his team would run a decent campaign for the flagbearership position, and work hard for the party to retain power beyond 2024.
Mr Ghartey made it clear that he would take immediate action if any member of his team became wayward and attacked others unnecessarily.
He thanked the President for taking time off his busy schedule to meet with him and wished him and the Government well.
President Akufo-Addo wished Mr Ghartey well saying his desire was to ensure that NPP retained power in 2024 and beyond.
He said his role was to ensure a fair playing field and was prepared to support anyone who emerged victorious in the primaries, while calling for a decent campaign.
Ghanaian musician Belinda Nana Akua Amoah, popularly known as Mzbel, has cursed the blogger behind the Ghanafuo Ho Nsem YouTube channel.
The blogger stated that Mzbel had accused Prophet Ajagurajah of deceiving and raping her in a YouTube article.
But, Mzbel quickly responded to the allegations, denying that she had ever met or even interacted with Ajugurajah before.
The “Asibolanga” hitmaker stated that she had not also granted any interviews regarding the spiritual leader and that she could not understand why someone would spread such untrue information.
Registering her displeasure about the incident in Facebook, Mzbel then cursed that the person who had lied about her never experience peace or happiness.
“I’ve never ever met this man before or even granted an interview about him so where the furk from this!” She wrote, adding that “May that person never no peace or happiness!”
Born Abed Kwabena Boakye Asiamah, popularly Known as Ajagurajah is the leader of Universal Spiritual Outreach otherwise known as Ajagurajah Movement in Ghana.
Having suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat against Madagascar in their Group C opener,the Black Galaxies bounced back to cruise to a 3-1 victory against Sudan on Thursday.
Goals from Hearts of Oak players Konadu Yiadom, Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Seidu Suraj ensured Ghana re through to the next stage.
A statement from the Sports Ministry read
Ghana will wait for its opponent in the quarter-finals after the third round of matches which will start on Saturday, January 21, 2022.
Ghanaian actress Lydia Forson, has cautioned Ghanaians not to rely on any minister who quits their position to run for President.
According to her, they cannot be trusted because most of them they fail to recognise problems in society adding that Ghanaians must resist the hypocrisy of such politicians.
“Do not trust any presidential candidate who only resigned to run for president and not because they saw wrongdoing and wanted to do the right thing,” she wrote.
Her post comes a few days after Trade Minister, Alan Kyeremanten, tendered a resignation letter to President Nana Akufo-Addo for his bid to contest for the flagbearership slot of the NPP.
It is, however, unclear why he resigned after serving at the Trade Ministry since 2017, and it is believed that he took the decision to enable him properly focus on his presidential ambition.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto officially resigned on January 10, 2023.
According to sources he resigned to focus on his Presidential ambition as he wants to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) into the 2024 general elections.
The actress is and continues to be one of the biggest critics of bad governance in the country. The actress has maintained such a position for several years and continues to fight for the people of Ghana regardless of which government is in power.
Elizabeth Arthur, a 58-year-old lady from Koforidua, was detained by the authorities for what was thought to be an unsafe method of making the regionally produced pepper sauce known as shito.
Naana, a woman who sells shito in the city, was discovered by some millers since she frequently visits them to have her ingredients ground.
This, according to a UTV reporter, Michael Akrofi, had been going on for a while until one of the millers decided to give a tip-off to the police to follow up on it.
The reporter explained that some of the items Naana uses for her shito are the peels of onions that are disposed off at ‘chop bars’.
“A miller was the first to notice this activity by the woman called Elizabeth Arthur, who is popularly known as Naana in Koforidua. She is 58 years. The millers realised that anytime she brings things to be milled, they were all rotten and unwanted things.
“The millers also know the work the woman does; she sells shito, so they were convinced that what she comes to grind is for the shito. To confirm this, the millers started observing her and truly confirmed that she was using those things to prepare her shito.
“Some of the things she sends to them are the wasted parts of onions. She does that by going there to sweep the waste with the pretext that she is going to dispose of them. When she returns home, she doesn’t even sort out the waste. She only adds some pepper to what she has, plus some ginger peels she also picks from the chop bars and then she goes to have them milled. When she is done, she prepares the shito and goes to sit by kenkey sellers to sell it.
“One of the millers eventually reported the suspicion to the police and thankfully, the police followed up on it and found her right in the act. She has since been sent to the Central Police Station,” he narrated.
The UTV reporter further explained that the middle-aged woman has since been granted bail but the police have also called on the Food and Drugs Authority, as well as well as the Standards Authority and environmental health experts to come in to help them ensure that the woman is prosecuted.
He added that the woman has been in the trade of selling shito for a very long time, supplying her product to a lot of kenkey sellers in Koforidua.
“The woman has grandchildren who she sends around to sell the shito for her,” he added
The youth of Ghana are frequently characterized as being lazy.
Popular names who have openly criticized Ghana’s youth as lazy include Kennedy Agyapong of the NPP and Kwadwo Safo Jnr, CEO of the Kantanka group of firms.
Occasionally, this assertion keeps on coming but many of the youth have refuted it.
They have described it as unfounded given that Ghanaian youth are in high demand in the Western world.
Justification is because they are paid wages to commensurate with the amount of work they put in.
Ghanaian USA-based Entertainment critic and musician, Archipalago thinks otherwise.
In an interview with Sammy Kay on the Go online show, the controversial personality thinks otherwise.
According to Archipalago, Ghanaian youth are lazy and that is his view.
He explained that many of the youth are always on the Internet and social media aimlessly.
Archipalago added that the government can’t do it all hence the need for the youth to create opportunities for themselves.
The “more” hitmaker narrated that he was once a cobbler before he travelled outside the shores of Ghana.
Archipalago also recounted the many menial jobs he had engaged in whilst in Ghana.
He indicated that due to his hardwork and focus, he is now a healthcare professional in the USA.
To him, success can’t be built in a day therefore Ghana’s youth should strive till they make it in life.
He remarked that in order to have a strong economy, greater policies will be necessary.
Read the full story originally published on December 20, 2022 by www.ghanaweb.com.
2023 has been predicted by Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to be the year when the country’s economy recovers.
In order to create a better economy, he claims that tougher policies will be necessary.
On December 19, 2022, he stated that “2023 must be our “comeback” year” in an update on the economy. A year in which we established more solid foundations that would enable us to improve our nation in a lasting, inclusive, and transformative manner.
The minister called on Ghana’s Parliament to fast-track the passing of the Appropriations Bill for the 2023 fiscal year.
“We also urge Parliament to support in particular new revenue measures outlined in the 2023 budget which aim to improve revenue mobilization. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of 2022”, he disclosed after giving an update on the economy,” he added.
The finance minister also announced that the government, after consultations with stakeholders, has extended the date for enrollment in the debt exchange program to December 30, 2022.
“Above all, I urge us all to maintain an unshakeable sense of optimism about Ghana in the days and years ahead. Indeed, “the LORD is the Lifter of our heads” (Psalm 3:4), as we all witness a new confidence in our currency and the prospects of the certainty of an IMF Board approval of our Staff Level Agreement,” Ofori-Atta concluded.
Government to extend expiration date for domestic debt exchange to December 30 – Ofori-Atta
According to reports, the suspect was charged GHC600.00 by the sex worker if he sleeps with her without condom the whole night.
The suspect agreed and went ahead and slept with her until the next day.
However, after enjoying and satisfying himself, the suspect tried leaving to his house without paying but the lady stopped him and insisted that he pays her the amount they both agreed on.
The lady then grabbed the suspect in the middle of the road at Mankessim but the young man still refused to pay the money.
Angered by the Suspect’s actions, she dragged him to the police station where he was asked about the charge against him and he confirmed it.
The suspect had been detained in the police cells as of the time of filing this report on Thursday.
The leader and founder of Ghana Union Movement (GUM), Reverend Christian Kwabena Andrews (popularly called Osofo Kyiri Abosom) has assured that, if GUM is voted into power in the coming 2024 general elections and he as President, would do everything possible to bring back all the inactive State enterprises.
“It is an area where a lot of employment opportunities would be created for our youth who graduate from various schools every year to find jobs on the job market but are unable to do so because most the state-owned enterprises have been sold out by successive governments since independence after Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah”.
He made this known at a press conference organized to outline the party’s readiness towards elections 2024 and to let Ghanaians know their position concerning how the country is being managed.
“Ghana Union Movement (GUM) cannot sit unconcerned while the IMF takes over our precious economic situation with hard conditionalities about to bite hard in the next coming months on the Ghanaian trader, bite hard on the Ghanaian nurse, bite hard on the Ghanaian teacher, bite hard on the Ghanaian farmer, a Doctor, a security man, a Driver, and all Ghanaians, it does not even exempt vulnerable”.
Ghana’s Educational Curriculum Rev. Andrews mentioned, would be reviewed under his leadership as President of Ghana saying, the current Educational system only gives prominence to white color jobs making skilled-oriented fields look inferior which makes them unattractive to potential students.
“My government would give serious attention to vocational training where raw talents are nurtured and redefined to suit our job market”.
According to him, privatization of State Enterprises would be a thing of the past adding that, unlike NPP and NDC, Ghana Union Movement (GUM) government would not entertained private businessmen owned and controlled any state enterprise.
“State-owned enterprises being managed by private companies deny the central government getting required and enough revenue making the state lose a huge revenue at the end of every financial year”.
He said, Gold for Oil project is a good initiative but it should have been sign in the same agreement with local companies on the country’s oil fields to get the cheapest transaction we are looking for should the state of Ghana’s refinery facility if capable of handling the said command.
The letter, which was published on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, by the Patriotic Millionaires in the US and UK, Tax me Now, Oxfam, and Millionaires for Humanity, urges governments to “tax us, the rich, and tax us now.”
According to a comprehensive analysis conducted by the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, and the Patriotic Millionaires, a progressive wealth tax starting at just 2 percent for millionaires and rising to 5 percent for billionaires could generate a staggering $2.52 trillion annually.
As the super-rich signatories of this report join the growing global movement calling for greater taxation of the wealthiest members of society, it is clear that record COVID-19 wealth gains at the top of society have only further exacerbated income inequality.
The ten richest men alone have more than doubled their fortunes to a staggering $1.5 trillion dollars, and the world’s 2,660 billionaires now have wealth equivalent to the size of the entire Chinese economy.
Morris Pearl, former managing director at Blackrock and chairperson of the Patriotic Millionaires, has pointed out that there is no defending a system that endlessly inflates the wealth of the world’s richest people while condemning billions to easily preventable poverty, and that we need deep, systemic change, starting with taxing the rich.
Gemma McGough, British entrepreneur and founder of the Patriotic Millionaires UK, has echoed this sentiment, stating that tax systems the world over have unfairness built-in and that it is time for the wrongs of an unequal world to be righted by taxing the rich.
Oxfam revealed earlier this week that three of Nigeria’s richest men are worth more than 83 million Nigerians. The firm also revealed that the four richest families, previously identified as the Bhimji Depar Shah and Jaswinder Singh Bedi families, as well as the Uhuru family and the family of late Kenyan tycoon Naushad Merali, have a combined wealth of $2.8 billion, which is more than the bottom 40% of Kenya’s poorest 22 million people.
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has approved a request by the Ghana Association of Banks on behalf of the listed Banks for the filing of 2022 audited Financial Statements to be extended by one month to April 30, 2023.
This will enable the eight banks work effectively with their external auditors to achieve the audit objectives.
The banks are Access Bank Ghana, ADB, CalBank, Ecobank Ghana, GCB Bank, Royal Bank Ghana, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana and Societe Generale.
The Ghana Association of Bankers has indicated that their discussions on the Government of Ghana Debt Exchange programme currently ongoing, has affected the finalisation of financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, by external auditors of the Banks.
In particular, the deliberations have implications for the assessment of Expected Credit Losses and its impact on 2022 financial statements.
The GSE said it is against this background that the date for filing of 2022 audited financial statements is extended by one month to April 30, 2023.
It urged the banks that can conclude their audit in time, after the ongoing discussions are encouraged to publish their audited financial statements within the existing statutory timeline.
Authorities have seized cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, and arrested its co-founder, accusing the firm of fuelling a “high-tech axis of crypto crime”.
The US Department of Justice charged Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national living in China, with running a business that catered to what he once described as “crooks”.
They said Bitzlato processed more than $700m (£567m) in illicit funds, breaking rules designed to thwart money laundering.
Mr Legkodymov was arrested in Miami.
“Institutions that trade in cryptocurrency are not above the law and their owners are not beyond our reach,” US Attorney Breon Peace said at a press conference on Wednesday, announcing the arrest.
“As alleged, Bitzlato sold itself to criminals as a no-questions-asked cryptocurrency exchange and reaped hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of deposits as a result. The defendant is now paying the price for the malign role that his company played in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”
Since 2018, the Hong Kong-registered exchange had processed about $4.5bn worth of cryptocurrency transactions, according to the complaint.
The firm required minimal identification from its users, allowing it to become a “haven for criminal proceeds and funds intended for use in criminal activity”, prosecutors said.
They alleged that the firm was aware of the issues, citing an internal document that described Bitzlato as handling “dirty money” without standard customer-vetting procedures.
Authorities said the firm was closely connected to Hydra Market, a darknet marketplace for drugs, money laundering and stolen financial information that international authorities shut down last year.
Bitzlato claimed it did not accept US customers but prosecutors said it in fact did “substantial” business with Americans.
US authorities worked with law enforcement in France and other countries on the operation.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has announced that government is planning to re-profile Ghana’s debt with the G20 developing countries rather than seek an outright cancelation.
The Paris Club members have already agreed to form a creditor committee to discuss debt restructuring and a possible debt cancelation for Ghana.
Government has come under some criticisms over its request to the Paris Club of International Creditors for debt cancelation.
Some analysts have argued that the request could encourage government to engage in reckless borrowing if it is granted.
Speaking on PM Express Business Edition, with George Wiafe, Mr. Ofori-Atta disagreed stating that the Paris Club members are always open for debt re-profiling.
“Paris Club is not necessarily debt cancellation but re-profilling of the debt. Basically, we are now talking about the float to look at the interest rate and the maturity period so that we can ensure that it does not exert any undue influence on us”.
He explained that the issue about debt relief and debt cancellation is a second item that government would have to confront with relevant stakeholders.
Providing some more information, he pointed out that government is dealing with a twin challenge where it is engaging domestic creditors as well as international creditors.
“We have the debt domestic programme. The plan is to reduce our interest burdens and move towards 25%. You have your Paris Club and other countries programme which helps smoothen out the needs for payment”, he said.
Mr. Ofori-Atta added that it is important to work at attaining a sustainable debt reduction – both domestic and external – to propel the country towards economic expansion.
“A combination of all of that leads us to the target so that’s what we are talking about. 55% debt to GDP and 18% debt service to revenue”, he stressed.
As part of his official visit, he addressed MOFA personnel and farmers in the Eastern Region. He informed them that the government was reducing production costs to help customers despite external issues beyond its control.
“We are pushing farmers to transition to organic fertilizers generated locally to lessen fertilizer scarcity on food production and asked the far west to move swiftly to compost.”
Dr. Afriyie Akoto said the government was looking at ways to force banks to lend to farmers to enhance productivity.
This was to address farmers’ incapacity to get loans from banks, he said, adding that attempts to the banks had proven useless over the years and the banks preferred to lend to entrepreneurs over farmers.
Mr Henry Crentsil, Eastern Regional Director of MOFA, said that despite fertilizer scarcity and high production costs, planting for food and employment and other initiatives indicate strong yields.
He claimed farmers’ adoption of better seeds has skyrocketed, especially in maize, signalling an oversupply of food and seasonal price spikes.
The Minister toured private commercial farms, including the Legacy Crop Improvement Center (LCIC), a seed production centre in Otareso, Akuapem North District, and examined its warehouse with a coding room.
He said his tour of the Regions revealed that the nation was well supplied with food, and the facts given by the regional directorates of Agricultural reinforced the idea that Ghana has a healthy, strong agriculture sector inspired by Planting for Food and Jobs.
A former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Central Regional First Vice Chairman, Horace Ekow Ewusi, has predicted a landslide victory for the party in the 2024 election.
Mr Ewusi says he believes the party is now more forged in unity and will increase the gains it secured in the 2020 election.
He was speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen following a reconciliation event last weekend in Cape Coast to patch the cracks in the party ahead of the 2024 general election.
The NPP, ahead of the 2020 general election, had 19 parliamentary seats in the Central Region while the NDC had four.
But the NPP lost nine of its parliamentary seats due to which the NDC swept 13 while the former secured 10 and managed to win 19 constituencies in the presidential election.
Scores of party faithful blamed the outcome on what they described as disunity in the region.
However, Mr Ewusi has touted the party has built a formidable front in the region, adding the Chairman Kutin-led administration is now more experienced which will make their victory an easy one.
“We have been able to write our wrongs and the one who did it in 2020, Chairman Kutin who helped us to secure those constituencies knows how he did it. I’m convinced he is more experienced now and will do much better. The elephant will surely smile at us in the Central Region,” he said.
He added the reconciliation event was a step in the right direction and commended the former and current executives for making it possible.
He asserts that Ghanaians’ circumstances will get worse as a result of the increase in electricity prices.
“The country is already struggling with galloping inflation estimated at approximately 32%, so this utility price increase will simply exacerbate the current high cost of living and worsen the situation of the already destitute Ghanaians,” he stated.
He was of the firm conviction that, “Government can and must do something to cushion Ghanaians who are going through unimaginable hardships with ever-worsening poverty levels.”
His concern comes after an upward adjustment in utility tariffs by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) on Monday, August 15, 2022.
Effective September 1, utility consumers will pay 27.15 per cent for electricity and 21.55 per cent for water.
In response, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee, John Jinapor, in a press statement dated August 15, noted that the tariff increment will only exacerbate the current high cost of living.
“The country is already reeling under galloping inflation estimated at about 32% thus, this utility tariff increment will only exacerbate the current high cost of living and will thus worsen the plight of the already impoverished Ghanaians”, a portion of the statement reads.
John Jinapor also refuted the misleading conclusion that the PURC has increased the Electricity tariffs by 27% for all consumers.
Read the full statement below:
The Minority in Parliament has taken note of the significant utility tariff hikes for electricity and water in an announcement by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
Firstly, we wish to debunk the misleading conclusion that the PURC has increased the Electricity tariffs by 27% for all consumers.
A critical look at the tariff structure as announced reveals that all residential consumers who fall between 0-300 kWh bracket have witnessed a price increase from GHp/kWh 65.4161 to GHp/kWh89.0422, representing an increment of almost 34%.
It should be noted that the bulk of residential consumers fall within the 0-300 kWh bracket and will therefore be adversely affected by the 34% adjustment.
More importantly, we have taken note that the increment is on account of the worsening Ghana Cedi against other major trading currencies.
The Cedi has in recent times witnessed a free fall, reaching almost 50%, and is currently rated amongst the worst performing currencies in the world.
The country is already reeling under galloping inflation estimated at about 32% thus, this utility tariff increment will only exacerbate the current high cost of living and will thus worsen the plight of the already impoverished Ghanaians.
Prior to these electricity tariff increments, Petroleum products at the pumps have witnessed a colossal increment of about 100%. So far, the Energy Debt Recovery Levy has seen an increase of 20%; the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy is up by 40%. The Unified Petroleum Pricing Formula has been increased by 164%, whilst the BOST margin has been increased from 3 Pesewas to 9 Pesewas representing a 200% increase. As if this is not enough, the fuel marking margin levy has also been increased by another 233%.
This is against the background that the volume of petroleum products consumed has increased by 35% from 4 billion litres to 5.5 billion litres.
We are of the strongest conviction that Government can and must do something to cushion Ghanaians who are going through unimaginable hardships with ever-worsening poverty levels under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumiah-led government.
It will be recalled that following the major tariff review in 2016, the NDC Government intervened, resulting in a reduction of the rate of increment by close to 50%.
We have also taken note of the government’s announcement that an unexpected windfall of about USD500,000 from Ghana’s share of petroleum resources was accrued in the 2022 mid-year budget statement.
This statement clearly means the government is making huge unanticipated revenues from crude exports, hence the need to cushion the suffering masses from these windfalls.
Finally, we wish to caution the PURC to refrain from capturing the AKSA plant which has had its contract tenure expired in the price build-up since that will be illegal.
Thank you.
John Abdulai Jinapor Ranking Member: Mines and Energy Committee
The Government is working to pay road contractors to enable them to complete ongoing projects in the country, Roads and Highways Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Attah has said.
Responding to questions at the hearing of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Thursday, in Accra, he said the delays in completing road projects could be attributed to payment of contractors on time, among other reasons.
The other reasons include the capacity of contractors to deliver, even though they produce documents to prove they were capable, which had posed challenges to the Ministry.
“But at any rate government is also trying to pay them as much as it can to enable them to work on the roads to specification and complete on time,” Mr Amoako-Attah said.
Hence, the Ministry had decided to embark on a major exercise to reclassify contractors, he said, to ensure it worked with people with the core competencies and capacity to execute.
Mr Amoako-Attah said the Ministry had already started publishing the names of reclassified contractors in the dailies, beginning this week, to stem the challenges.
“So, it is an ongoing process and those who are found incapable, we follow the contractual procedures and where we have to terminate, we don’t hesitate to do so.”
The Minister said steps are taken to repackage and re-award the contract to more competent contractors.
A member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral Project, Reverend Dr Joyce Aryee has defended the controversial GH¢2.6 million payment made to JNS Talent Centre Limited, a firm allegedly owned by Rev Victor Kusi Boateng who is the secretary of the Board of Trustees.
According to the Founder and Leader of Salt and Light Ministries, the secretariat was in urgent need of the aforementioned amount to settle a contractor but did not have the funds, so, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng offered to pay the said amount and was later refunded without any interest.
“That was the instance we had to pay a contractor and we needed GHc2.6 million to add to what we had. We knew we could get the money but due to urgency, we couldn’t wait. So, one of us decided he could provide the funds so we repay him when we receive the funds. No interest was requested,” she said on Adom TV’s Badwam show monitored by GhanaWeb.
Rev. Aryee continued by saying that she disagrees with requests for the board to be dissolved as a result of the numerous scandals that have marred the project.
Meanwhile, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a Member of Parliament for North Tongu who has been a staunch advocate against the construction of the National Cathedral, on grounds that the timing, location and process are wrong has made some allegations against Reverend Kusi Boateng.
In an explosive set of allegations which he describes as the Tsar Bomba of all scandals, Ablakwa claimed that Reverend Kusi Boateng holds multiple passports and identification cards with some bearing the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
“You will recall that in my earlier exposé of the scandalous GH₵2.6million cash transfer from the National Cathedral Secretariat to JNS Talent Centre Limited, I pointed out that incorporation documents reveal that the three directors of JNS Talent Centre Limited are Johannes Eshun, Sheila Eshun and Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
“I also later revealed that Rev. Johannes Eshun is a branch pastor of National Cathedral Executive Council Member/Director, Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng’s Power Chapel Worldwide.
“Hitherto, the third director—Mr. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi has remained a mystery figure.
“I am now able to reveal the true identity of this mystery director of JNS, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
“Definitely, the code has finally been cracked and it shocks to the marrow!
“Unimpeachable and incontrovertible evidence confirms that Mr. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is the famous Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng who still serves on the National Cathedral Board as an Executive Council Member/Director.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no distinct Kwabena Adu Gyamfi. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is a criminal creation of Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng. The two are therefore one and the same.
“Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi thought he had outwitted every Ghanaian, particularly our authorities whom he dribbled for many years; but the day of reckoning is finally here.
“From unassailable and irreproachable documents in my possession, Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi uses multiple passports and multiple identification cards with different names and different dates of birth as his special modus operandi,” he wrote on Facebook.
A recently published KPMG Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey 2022 ranked Absa Bank among the top threein customer service in Ghana.
Absa has consistently moved up in the KPMG rankings, starting in 10th position in the first rollout of the survey in 2016 and maintaining a top three position since 2020.
The survey highlighted several key areas of strength for Absa, including empathy, personalisation, time and effort, exceeding expectations, integrity and resolution.
The bank was also highly rated for the ease of transferring money between accounts and mobile wallets, with special mention given to its ATM QR code functionality for withdrawing money.
“We are thrilled to see that our efforts to become the most customer-obsessed bank in Ghana are paying off,” said Evelyn Acquah, Chief Customer Officer at the bank.
“Our colleagues have worked hard to provide excellent customer service and we are proud to see that reflected in this survey. Our target is to be a consistent number one in the industry.”
Absa plans to roll out new and innovative ways to take its customer commitment to the next level this year.
“We are constantly asking the most critical questions about our operating model and how we can increasingly stand beside our customers and offer them ease and convenience. It is an ethos and approach to work that define the Absa way of doing things, Evelyn said.
The bank has been an ever-present financial institution in Ghana’s banking industry over the last century, playing a crucial role in the country’s socioeconomic growth and transformation.
The bank aims to continue improving the experience of its customers through the provision of innovative products, digital channels and excellent service delivery.
The main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is actively gearing up for a busy 2023 ahead of crucial 2024 General Elections as they look to wrestle power from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
It will be the first major test for the newly-elected batch of executives led by National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, who until December 2022 had served for 17 years as the party’s General Secretary.
Asiedu Nketiah, along with his successor Fifi Fiavi Kwetey and members of the National Executive body are gunning for early victory by way of leading the NDC into the Jubilee House after eight years in opposition.
The party on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 released detailed guidelines on how its presidential and parliamentary primaries will be conducted later this year.
GhanaWeb looks at the major highlights contained in both processes.
Major modalities for the presidential primary
Date and venues:
The election of the Presidential Candidate shall be held on Saturday, 13th May, 2023 at Voting Centers in all 276 Constituencies of the NDC which includes the SALL/Guan catchment area.
The National Headquarters of the NDC shall constitute an additional voting center for all delegates from external branches of the party.
Nomination process and completing forms:
Nominations shall be opened between 22nd and 24th March, 2023
A candidate must be proposed by a party member in good standing and endorsed by five others in each constituency in each region across the country.
Candidates shall be subjected to a vetting process which is expected to take place at the party Headquarters on a specified date.
Cost of forms and submission:
Nomination forms shall be made available in the office of the General Secretary for purchase at a non-refundable fee of Thirty thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh¢30,000.00) paid by bankers’ draft.
The completed forms (Nomination and endorsement forms) are to be returned to the General Secretary of the Party with evidence of the payment of a non-refundable filing fee of Five hundred thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh¢500,000.00) via bankers’ draft.
Female candidates and Persons with Disabilities shall pay fifty percent (50%) of the filing fees
Election Day:
The presidential primary will take place concurrently with the parliamentary primary with the party’s national headquarters serving as the collation center.
A candidate will require 50% plus one to win a first-round victory.
Major modalities for the parliamentary primary
Date and place:
It shall be held on same day as the presidential primary (May 13, 2023). The election shall be held at a venue within the Constituency as determined by the Constituency Executive Committee in consultation with the Regional Executive Committee (REC) of the respective region.
Nomination forms
Forms shall be made available online for download on www.ghanandc.com and a non-refundable fee of Five thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh¢5,000.00) paid online via the stipulated momo or bank card.
The completed forms (nomination and endorsement) shall be completed and submiited to the Elections Directorate of the constituency after the payment of a non-refundable filing fee of Forty thousand Ghana cedis (Gh¢40,000.00) via Bank Card on www.ghanandc.com.
Completing forms:
Each contestant must be proposed by one person and seconded by three (3) persons all of whom must be members of good standing of the party in different branches of the constituency.
Each prospective candidate shall be endorsed by at least one branch executive member of the party from 50 percent of the total branches in the constituency.
Day of voting:
All rules as applies in national elections shall be applicable along with any other rules as communicated by the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Candidates can appoint agents to monitor the process. Ballots shall be counted and collated immediately after the process and winner shall be declared on the basis of first past the post – aspirant with highest number of votes.
Key timelines for the process:
OPENING OF NOMINATIONS MONDAY 22ND – 24TH FEBRUARY, 2023
SUBMISSION OF FORMS/ FILING OF NOMINATION MONDAY 20TH – 22ND MARCH 2023
The re-registration of SIM cards, has been beneficial in helping curb the work of fraudsters across the country.
This was disclosed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) George Akuffo Dampare, when he spoke at the Public Accounts Committee hearing.
According to the IGP, “the challenge used to be the case where we had people walking to any service provider and getting a SIM card registered.”
He, however, noted that: “With the registration of the numbers and the blocking of all the numbers which are unregistered, there is a difficulty for these people [scammers] to continue with their operations.”
He added: “So the registration has helped us in defining the space to get these people arrested.”
Government began the re-registration of SIM cards across the country with the Ghana Card as the only accepted document in October 2021.
The re-registration of SIM cards is geared at hounding down persons who use mobile phones for criminal activities.
A new video showing what many have described as an embarrassing moment for some personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has emerged online.
In the video, which has also been shared by GhOne TV on Twitter, the firefighters are seen frantically trying to get their fire tender to shoot out water towards a car that was nearly fully up in flames, just on the other side of the road.
One of the personnel of the GNFS is then seen trying to manually start a generator, so as to get the fire tender working.
All the while, bystanders are heard in the background, expressing how disappointed they are, while others try to explain what led to the car catching fire.
The GNFS is yet to officially respond to the video, as well as confirm whether this is actually a recent video or not.
Bishop Kwabena Asiamah, alias Bishop Ajagurajah, is enraged by a leaked audiotape of an unknown woman making earth-moving allegations against him.
In the fast-circulating tape, the voice of the unidentified woman is heard in an interview recounting her experience on her first visit to Bishop Ajagurajah’s church premises.
According to her, upon reaching the Ajagurajah Movement Centre, the man of God expressed interest in her and claimed she had been in the spiritual realm to be his wife.
Among other things, she claimed that Ajagurajah was not a true man of God but a rapist and a scammer who wanted to deceive her and have his way with her.
After the audio surfaced, many people attributed the voice to veteran Ghanaian musician Belinda Nana Ekua Amoah, alias Mzbel, who has vehemently debunked the audio and its content.
According to her, she has “never met this man before or even granted an interview about him” and is taken aback by the lies being peddled.
Bishop Ajaraguah has also not taken kindly to the circulating audiotape as he has responded with a very furious tone.
In a self-recorded video, he warned that he would summon the souls of the perpetrators to a court in the spiritual realm to answer questions of his masters.
Watch the video below
According to Ajaraguah, he will deal with them if found guilty of the lies being peddled.
He said they would pay with their lives as he would buy a cow, remove its heart – which represents the human heart – and inflict nail and knife injuries to it before burying it.
