This is because the programme has left investors short of options, which explains why the most recent auction of money market instruments was oversubscribed -dominated by the 91-day and 182-day tenors – by 15.5 percent in the first week of the year. In all, total demand worth GH¢1.72billion was tabled against the Treasury’s target of GH¢1.49billion.
The issuer accepted 97 percent of the tendered bids, which coincided with a hike in yield of the 91-day instrument by 14bps – from 35.36 percent to 35.66 percent. The 182-day bill also recorded a modest 3bps increase, to 35.98 percent from 35.95 percent.
“Given the limited options for pension and other institutional funds, the offer could be oversubscribed at a slightly higher cost,” Economist and Research Lead at GCB Capital, Courage Kwesi Boti, stated.
Recent interest rates on the 91-day and 182-day instruments show a hike of 23.14 percent for the former and 22.78 for the latter during the same period a year ago. At the time, the shortest tenor bill rate was 12.52 percent while that of the 6-month security was 13.19 percent.
DDEP
Despite an amendment to terms of the voluntary DDEP – which government hopes will help it save as much as GH¢31.29billion in interest payments during 2023 – to exempt pension funds but now include individual bondholders, government has continued to keep T-bills out of the programme since they remain a critical tool for its short-term financing.
There are, however, growing concerns that push-back by the investing public against terms of the DDEP – coupled with the rising short-term rates which have been described as prohibitive – will increase pressure on the state.
Already, a group calling itself Individual Bondholders’ Forum (IBF) has called on its members – particularly direct, individual bondholders – to “reject and refrain from complying with the mandatory deadline imposed under the debt exchange programme”.
The group also urged investors to direct their fund managers not to accept the DDEP.
The President received Dr. Afriyie Akoto’s letter of resignation on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at Jubilee House in Accra.
President Akufo-Addo praised Dr. Akoto for his contribution to the government and the country, according to a statement released by the communications director at the Presidency, Mr. Eugene Arhin. He also expressed his best wishes for his future undertakings.
Lori Harvey and Damson Idris have confirmed rumours that they are dating, it appears.
Snowfall actor Damson posted a photo of the pair on his Instagram Story today (Friday 13th Jan), showing him planting a kiss on Lori’s cheek.
“Happy Birthday Nunu,” Damson captioned the image in honour of Lori’s 26th birthday, alongside a red love heart emoji. It seems the British star has already coined a nickname for his new girlfriend!
Lori Harvey and Damson Idris have confirmed rumours that they are dating, it appears. Picture: Instagram/@damsonidris
In December last year, influencer Lori’s dating life kickstarted the rumour mill once again after she was spotted on a dinner date with Damson in West Hollywood.
The couple then went on to attend a friend’s birthday party later that evening, where they walked out together.
Lori’s last relationship was with actor Michael B. Jordan, before the pair split in early June 2022 after a year of dating.
Michael and Lori split in 2022 after a year of dating. Picture: Getty
Following the split, Lori opened up about her reasoning behind the break-up in a conversation with Teyana Taylor and Bumble, saying she was unwilling to do anything that would “compromise peace and happiness”, as well as confessing that she was dating “on her own terms.”
Lori previously dated rapper Future for around 6 months at the beginning of 2020. She once dated singer Trey Songz, and was also linked to rap mogul Diddy.
She was briefly engaged to football player Memphis Depay in 2017.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 9.0252 and a selling price of 9.0342. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 12.20 and sold at a rate of 12.90.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 10.9974 and a selling price of 11.0102 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 10.9611 and a selling price of 10.9739.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 9.7659 and a selling price of 9.7755 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 9.7181 and a selling price of 9.7286.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 12.20 and sold at a rate of 13.30.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.60 and sold at a rate of 1.00.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 50.9237 and a selling price of 51.0133 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 51.0061 and a selling price of 51.0903.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 13.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 18.00.
His net worth has decreased by $255 million to $7.8 billion, according to Forbes, as a result of the reassessment of several of his unlisted companies that are part of the rapidly expanding manufacturing and industrial conglomerate, BUA Group.
Despite this setback, Rabiu has managed to hold onto his position as one of the wealthiest people in Nigeria because to his business empire, which includes stakes in cement production, real estate, and infrastructure construction.
Since the shares of his unified food business BUA Foods Plc were listed a year ago, Rabiu’s net worth has risen from $4.9 billion to $8.1 billion before declining to $7.6 billion at the time of this report.
In the past year, the sustained increase in his net worth can also be attributed to the surge in the market value of his 92-percent stake in BUA Cement. Shares in the leading cement company have increased from less than N70 ($0.15) a year ago to N99.45 ($0.22) at the time of this report.
The price surge can be linked to the financial success of the cement company, as it reported a 12.3-percent increase in its profit in the first nine months of 2022, rising from N65.9 billion ($145 million) in the same period of 2021 to N74 billion ($168.4 million).
The double-digit increase in earnings can be attributed to the sustained growth in cement sales, thanks to the enhanced capacity that came with the opening of a 3-million-metric-ton cement factory. This was part of a concerted effort to meet the country’s growing cement demand and to export to other countries.
Aside from his business interests and investments, the Nigerian billionaire is also known for his philanthropic work. He has been actively involved in various charitable initiatives, including education and healthcare.
In 2022, his philanthropic organization, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa), unveiled a N10-billion ($23.8 million) Nigeria Security Support Fund to provide security equipment and medical and other supplies to the families of soldiers fighting terrorists in Nigeria’s northeast and to strengthen local infrastructure.
This contribution marks the single largest donation to a philanthropic cause made by a Nigerian businessman and follows the $3-million development initiative he launched in Niger.
On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, the sector minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, submitted his letter of resignation to the president.
Afriyie Akoto personally informed the President of his desire to leave from his job as Food and Agriculture Minister on January 12, 2023, according to a statement released by Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications at the President’s office.
This came following a $1.3 million gold scandal involving a US-licensed gold purchase company.
The CEO said that the Ghanaian police had hindered their efforts to obtain justice and had thereby given foreign investors a negative impression of the country.
Read the entire article Starrfm’s original article was released on June 13, 2017.
In order to attract investors, the CEO of the US-licensed gold buying company Green Global Resources painted a bleak picture of Ghana.
Speaking to Starr Business after a media briefing Tuesday, Mr. Barbieri alleged the police are involved in a cover-up, increasing his fear to expand investment in the West African country.
In March this year five policemen, including the East Legon District Police Commander, DSP Emmanuel Basintale were arrested in connection with a number of alleged fraudulent gold deals running into several millions of Ghana cedis.
DSP Basintale, who is currently on interdiction, is alleged to have led a group of officers to defraud Green Global Resources Company Limited under the pretext of selling 13 gold bars to the company.
Mr. Barbieri stressed “it really appears everybody was knowledgeable and nobody wants to address this situation. Right now we are out of significant amount of money and we don’t have confidence that this is a safe environment to operate.”
For him, the police has adopted a lukewarm approach because most of its high ranking officials are involved in the scam.
“In this situation, a lot of senior police officials and some other junior ranking officials, some including BNI officers, were allegedly protecting the scammers.
“Unfortunately the country of Ghana is the real loser here because your security services are apparently corrupt and cheat potential investors and drive this potential investor away by protecting the scammers and these police corrupt officials.”
“It must be stated categorically that, the 13 boxes of gold that was confiscated have still not been returned to Green Global Resources Ltd. and we believe it is in the possession of the Police Service. We are therefore calling on the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; Mr. David Asante Apeatu, Inspector General of Police and Mr. Bright Oduro, Director-General of the CID, to act on the information provided above to act upon to retrieve our money or the bars of gold are given to us,” Barbieri opined.
At a joint press conference, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, the Director-General, and Joseph Poku, the Chief Actuary of SSNIT, announced the new increment.
All pensioners on the SSNIT Pension Payroll as of December 31, 2022, will have their monthly pension enhanced by a fixed rate of 19% plus a redistributed flat amount of GH73.58, according to Mr. Poku’s submission.
He indicated that the redistribution is a mechanism applied to the indexation rate to cushion low-earning pensioners in conformity with the solidarity principle of social security.
The effective increase in pensions would therefore range from 19.05% for the highest-earning pensioner to 43.53% for the lowest-earning pensioner.
Accordingly, the highest-earning Pensioner as of 31st December 2022 will receive GH¢ 169,725.89 per month in 2023. The lowest-earning pensioner as of 31st December 2022 will have his / her monthly pension increased from GH¢ 300 to GH¢ 430.58 in 2023.
Pensioners will be paid on the third Thursday of every month.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang, Director-General, said the increase was significant given the country’s current economic crisis.
He stated that the new indexation would cost Ghc850 million for the entire year.
He urged employers and SSNIT Scheme members who are affected by the revised maximum and minimum earnings to pay the correct contributions.
He said almost 70 percent of the SSNIT members would benefit from the increase.
Currently, there are about 234,000 legitimate pensioners as of December 31, 2022.
The Pensioners Association of Ghana described the increment as unexpected.
General Secretary Stephen Boakye said the figure was huge and SSNIT must be commended.
Highest pensioner in Ghana to receive GH¢169,725 – SSNIT
Former 3Music Network CEO, Baba Sadiq has slammedShatta Wale for his comments during the Meek Mill saga.
Earlier, the dancehall artiste poked Ghanaians who poured out their frustrations at President Akufo-Addo, following Meek Mill’s release of the music video shot at the Jubilee house.
Shatta described all those who have criticized the American rapper and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as villagers.
“You wan go America go take pictures for White House. You say “year of return “and your own black brother come shoot video as he return home you bore ..You are a villager trust me!!! “You won’t solve your problem. You want to fight with president. see mumu …Jon. There’s a better beef coming up. Forget president beef and let’s wait for the great beef …You can’t show Nana anything. so shut up,” he earlier stated.
But reacting to the development, Baba Sadiq who appears peeved with Shatta Wale’s statements labelled him as clueless.
According to the popular music investor, Shatta Wale’s statement were borne out of sheer ignorance.
“People like Shatta Wale always take advantage of things to spew their ignorance. We sit down in this country and a foreign rapper is allowed to desecrate the presidency and the essence of our statehood and you say what? The presidency is the seat of power, seat of government. That is where power is executed and you allow anybody to just walk-in. that massive security breach? They record that ugly song filled with sexual violence and put it out and Shatta Wale said what?
“If the argument is that these people are promoting tourism, Ghanaian artistes organized shows this December, wasn’t it meant to boost tourism? If these Ghanaian artistes including Shatta were even hosted at the Jubilee House and parted on the back or even given incentives for doing a good job, wouldn’t that be okay?” he stated in an interview with AccraFM.
She emphasized how the Bank of Ghana removes a failing institution from the system.
It’s crucial that the media guides the public conversation in a neutral and knowledgeable way.
Headlines like “Bank of Ghana has collapsed companies” are ones we’ve heard far too frequently. Bank of Ghana never lets anything go under. No. We supervise, we license, and when an institution fails, we remove it from the system in a way that doesn’t have an impact on the system, she said.
Read the full story originally published on October 13, 2020 by GhanaWeb
Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Elsie Addo Awadzi, has asked the media to use the right terminologies in their reports on the sector to send the right messages to the public.
Speaking at a media sensitization workshop organised by the BoG and associations representing Specialised Deposit-taking Institutions (SDIs), the 2nd Deputy BoG Governor said some headlines distort the salient point in an event within the sector.
“It is important that the media leads the public discourse in a dispassionate and expert manner…We have heard too often, headlines such as ‘Bank of Ghana has collapsed companies’. Bank of Ghana never collapses anything. No. We licence, we supervise and then when an institution has failed, we take it out of the system in a manner that does not affect the system.
“So do not say ‘Bank of Ghana has collapsed anything’. Bank of Ghana does not collapse anything. These institutions are run and governed by their shareholders, who put their Board of Directors and a team of management. So, they collapsed the companies. We don’t collapse the companies. It is important for the media to understand that,” she stressed.
The media sensitisation event brought together key players in the sector and presented a rare opportunity for the SDI associations to better explain their operations to the media.
It also enabled the media to ask appropriate questions of the key players in the sector and provide feedback to SDIs as to what the public thinks of their service.
Elsie Addo Awadzi said it is important that the media grows to become a key partner that understands the financial sector and the regulatory framework within which the financial sector operates.
“[The financial sector] is very different from other types of businesses and it is important that the media, when they engage in discussions related to the financial sector, they do so with an understanding of regulatory environment as well as the policy environment within which the financial sector operates,” she admonished.
IBHAG issues a warning, saying that disobeying it will result in its members mounting their strongest opposition to date.
In addition, the association urges all individual bondholders, whether or not they are IBHAG members, to resist the urge to agree to voluntarily exchange their current bonds for the new ones that the government has floated, despite the Minister of Finance’s subliminal threats.
According to IBHAG, most of its members are pensioners, traders, teachers, public servants, and individuals who have lost their jobs due to the unfavorable policies of the government.
Some are unemployed. Members have been able to make some savings from their sweat and toil, and have invested from as little as GH¢500 in bonds, only for government to rob them of their hard-earned savings – both interest and principal – using such an unconscionable debt restructuring process, which targets the individual.
“We cannot be made to suffer for the recklessness and greed that characterized Ghana’s excessive borrowing, which largely is the reason why we are where we are. Government appointees at the Ministry of Finance cannot make millions of dollars as transaction (borrowing) advisors and go and enjoy with their family and friends, whilst we are denied of the means to purchase our medications and pay for health care. Our inclusion means we cannot pay our children’s school fees, pay for our rent and many other critical essentials. All these hardships are being thrown at us just to protect the greed of those appointees”, a pensioner who is a member of the association said.
Furthermore, IBHAG maintains that the Akufo-Addo led-government continues to overspend by maintaining bloated government machinery made up of party boys and girls with outrageous pecks. Whilst they continue to enjoy, the individual bondholder is being robbed by the government of his or her hard-earned savings in broad daylight, whilst the pecks of the party boys and girls are protected.
The IBHAG calls on parliament, the Council of State, professional associations, religious bodies, Civil Society Organisations, the media and all well-meaning groups and individuals to join the advocacy against the looting of individual investments that the government has planned.
Meanwhile, we urge all members as well as new ones to remain calm – even as they refuse to sign onto the voluntary exchange of bonds – as IBHAG continues to seek audience with government on these vexed issues.
The 2020 NPP Parliamentary candidate for the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency, Hopeson Adorye and husband of gospel musician, Mrs. Gifty Adorye has indicated Ghanaians are full of hypocrisy.
Speaking in an interview with Sammy Kay, the NPP man stated that the country Ghana is made up of fake people hence has admonished his wife “Empress Gifty” to live her life without paying attention to naysayers.
Mr. Hopeson Adorye revealed that he sometimes selects the outfit worn by his wife to events and programs and therefore has no problem at all with the negative comments by some Ghanaians that his wife dresses indecently.
According to Hon. Hopeson, Ghanaians need to render an unqualified apology to Moesha Boduong for the vitriolic attack on her just because she enhanced her body yet people will do same only if they had the means.
When the President assured the nation on December 5, 2022 that there would be no haircuts on investments, the bondholders pointed him to a petition that they had submitted.
The President advised that all reports of haircuts be discounted and disregarded. The government later declared that a restructuring is necessary due to the scale of its indebtedness.
However, the individual bondholders claimed that before the government announced their inclusion in the program on December 24, 2022, there had been no prior agreements with them.
They said: “But today, our coupons face absolute haircuts and when we discount your proposed benchmark bonds at the coupon rates of the original bonds, we are losing effectively 50% of our investments. When discounted at current T-bill rates, we are losing 71% of our investments, and at prevailing inflation, we face an 88.2% loss.”
This they noted was a complete deviation from what was promised by the government.
The bondholders in their petition want the government to exclude all individual bondholders of all types of government bonds from the domestic debt exchange programme.
They explained that individual bondholders are not a critical factor in the success of the programme.
“In our estimation, the direct individual bondholding and holdings through collective investment schemes stand at about GHS15.5bn, representing about 11% of the eligible bonds and the capitalized interest. With your set target of 80% of eligible bonds, Individual Bondholders are not a critical success factor to the viability of the DDE programme as you envisage, yet the impact of their inclusion has incalculable consequences. Please exclude us and save 1.3mn livelihoods and dependents from shackled penury,” they said.
The forum led by Senyo Hosi and David Tetteh pleaded with the President to ensure that it is “not said ever that during your tenure, your policies impoverished citizens whose primary duty to country was service and love through hard work and taxes. Your DDE as proposed for Individual Bondholders takes away our liberty to self-sustain, mocks hard work, and robs us of legally acquired property. None of these reflect the tenets of good governance.”
He claims that this is a 19.05% increase over the top pensioner’s prior payment of GH142,564.97 in 2022.
On Friday, January 13, 2023, Mr. Poku stated the lowest pensioner will receive GH430.58, a rise of 43.53%, at a press conference in Accra.
“The indexation rate for 2023 is 25% and this represents a 150% increase over the previous year’s indexation rate which was 10%…Having determined this rate, we don’t want to apply this rate across board because some people are earning far higher than the others so we need to take into account those who are low pension earners and this is what enabled us to introduce the mechanism called the redistribution,” Mr Poku announced.
“So the lowest pensioner who as at last year was receiving GH¢300 is now going to receive GH¢430 and some pesewas and this represents 43.53% increase over the previous years…again, the highest earning pensioner who was having GH¢142,564.97 is now going to receive pension beginning January 2023 of GH¢169,725.89 very month,” he added.
Apple has long opposed the idea of a MacBook with a touch screen, but that may soon change.
Sources tell Bloomberg that Apple engineers are working on a touch screen for the MacBook Pro and have a tentative launch of 2025. Speculation about the tech giant developing a computer with a touch screen dates back to 2010, when the company filed a patent for what was called the iMac Touch, according to Patently Apple.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dismissed rumors that same year, arguing that a touch screen laptop would not work. “We’ve done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn’t work,” he said, according to Insider. “Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical.”
Since then a number of competitors, including Microsoft and Dell, have not only entered the touch screen computer space, but also adopted the two-in-one laptop-tablet hybrid.
In 2021, the topic of a touch screen laptop was revisited with Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus, who believed the company didn’t need to entertain the idea due to the existence of the iPad.
“We make the world’s best touch computer on an iPad,” Ternus said. “It’s totally optimized for that. And the Mac is totally optimized for indirect input. We haven’t really felt a reason to change that.”
A subsequent remark from Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi seemed to suggest that the company’s resistance was waning:
Asked if the Mac will ever get a touch screen, Craig Federighi: “Who’s to say?” Better than the usual no chance. — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) October 26, 2022.
The 35-year-old—born Robert Rihmeek Williams—announced the big news via Instagram on Thursday, nearly 15 years after he was convicted of drug- and weapons-related charges. The move serves as an act of forgiveness for certain criminal convictions, and allows the related offenses to be expunged from his criminal record.
“Thankyall 🥲 I’m only gone do more for my community on god!” Meek captioned a photo of the declaration signed by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.
According to Wolf’s office, Meek was among 369 individuals who received a pardon in Pennsylvania this week. Gov. Wolf has issued a total of 2,540 pardons since taking office in 2015, marking the most of any governor in Pennsylvania history.
“I have taken this process very seriously—reviewing and giving careful thought to each and every one of these 2,540 pardons and the lives they will impact,” said the governor, who will leave office on Jan. 17. “Every single one of the Pennsylvanians who made it through the process truly deserves their second chance, and it’s been my honor to grant it. A record prevents positive forward motion in a person’s life and can spark a repetitive cycle of defeat. I firmly believe that with restored rights, pardoned Pennsylvanians prove themselves by stepping up and giving back to our communities.”
Over the past several years, Meek has become a leading figure in the fight for criminal justice reform, as his own legal battle sparked public outcry and nationwide protests. In 2017, the Dream Chasers boss was sentenced to 2-4 years in prison for probation violations, a sentence that was widely criticized as unjust and heavy-handed.
Presiding Judge Genece Brinkley, was accused of having a personal vendetta against Meek and demonstrating inappropriate behavior throughout his case. Meek’s team claimed Brinkley had asked Meek to write a song about her, urged him to change managers, and even checked up on him as he was doing community service.
Brinkley was transferred to civil court last year, after court officials expressed concerns over her ethics and work management. The judge went on to file a racial and gender discrimination lawsuit, as well as a petition to reverse the transfer, claiming it raised “unwarranted suspicions about [her] integrity and performance.”
In addition to fighting for criminal justice reform, Meek has spent the last year giving back to his community. Earlier this week, the rapper announced he, Kevin Hart, and Michael Rubin collectively donated $7 million to Philadelphia-area schools.
You see the blogs didn’t catch this one 🤔 they highlight anything negative about their own people, it’s getting readable! https://t.co/DJRjjToFfq— MeekMill (@MeekMill) January 10, 2023
Since stepping down as Nike CEO and becoming executive chairman in 2020, Mark Parker has kept a relatively low profile, but today he’s adding a new title to his resumé: chairman of the board at The Walt Disney Company.
The move was announced today by Disney, with a press release stating Parker will succeed current chairwoman Susan Arnold following the company’s annual meeting of shareholders. Arnold will not be seeking re-election for the position as she has reached the board’s 15-year term limit.
“Mark Parker’s vision, incredible depth of experience and wise counsel have been invaluable to Disney, and I look forward to continuing working with him in his new role, along with our other directors, as we chart the future course for this amazing company,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a press release. “On behalf of my fellow board members and the entire Disney management team, I also want to thank Susan for her superb leadership as chairman and for her tireless work over the past 15 years as an exemplary steward of the Disney brand.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as Disney’s chairman, and I look forward to working closely with Bob [Iger] and his management team on a strategy of growth that balances investment with profitability, while preserving Disney’s core mission of creative excellence, to deliver shareholder value,” Parker said. “At the same time, it is the top priority of mine and the Board’s to identify and prepare a successful CEO successor, and that process has already begun.”
Parker has served on Disney’s board of directors since 2016. In addition to assuming the role of chairman of the board, Parker will also lead a new succession planning committee of the board at Disney.
50 Cent has apologized to Megan Thee Stallion for a meme he shared about the Tory Lanez trial. The Canadian artist was found guilty of shooting Megan last month and is currently in jail.
“I’m gonna apologize to Megan Thee Stallion,” he said around the 7:50 point of his interview with Big Boy, as seen above. “I said some things, and it was because… On social media I posted things that—when she was with Gayle [King]—she said, ‘Were you intimate with Tory Lanez?’ And she said, ‘What?’ and it was like, ‘No.’ And I was like, ‘Ah, she lying.’ At that point I knew she was lying, it wouldn’t be no reason for them to be around each other. From that it felt like she was lying, to me.”
He admitted that he “wasn’t being supportive” of her, and he felt compelled to apologize after he heard audio from a prison phone call Tory Lanez made to Kelsey Harris, in which he seemingly expressed remorse for shooting Megan. “I should apologize to her, because when I heard the phone conversation… That made me feel like, ‘Oh shit,’” he said. “’Now I know what happened.’ I’m sure that was probably what swayed people in court, too.”
His apology comes a month after he shared a meme during the trial that appeared to compare Megan to actor Jussie Smollett, who was found guilty of staging a hate crime against himself in Chicago.
The phone call 50 referenced was used as damning evidence during the trial of Lanez last month. “I know she’s probably never ever gonna talk to me ever again but bruh, I just want you to know I was just so fucking drunk, I don’t even know what the fuck was going on, deadass,” Lanez said in the audio. “I’d never do some shit like that.” At the conclusion of the trial, Lanez was found guilty on all three charges, which included assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a concealed and loaded firearm in a vehicle, and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence.
Fif previously apologized for sharing a meme shortly after news surfaced that Megan was shot twice in the foot. “Damn I didn’t think this shit was real,” 50 wrote on Instagram in 2020. “It sounded so crazy @theestallion i’m glad your feeling better and i hope you can accept my apology. I posted a meme that was floating around. I wouldn’t have done that if i knew you was really hurt sorry.”
UPDATED, 6:50 p.m. ET: Vice News has obtained text messages and voice notes that were allegedly sent from Tate to a woman who accused him of raping her in November 2013.
The woman claims they had been dating for two or three weeks when she went to his apartment for the first time. They were kissing on his bed when Tate allegedly tried to take off her clothes. The woman maintains she told him beforehand that she didn’t want to have sex, and Tate reassured her nothing would happen between them, until he suddenly stopped kissing her and laid down on his bed.
“I got up and looked at him and went, ‘What’s wrong?’” she said. “This guy literally laid there and went: ‘I’m just debating whether I should rape you or not.’” The woman claims Tate’s demeanor changed shortly thereafter, saying, “It was like his eyes went, and I didn’t have a clue who that person was.”
She admits to being in denial about what occurred for a “very long time,” and struggles till this day to use what she refers to as “the R word.” She continued to see him several months after the incident and engaged in consensual sex.
“If I go and see him again, and I want it this time, then I’m not being degraded, then it’s not the R word,” she explained. “So that’s what I did. I was like, ‘Right, I’ll see you again…you haven’t taken that control of me. You haven’t hurt me.”
Trafficking Allegations
In 2015, the woman received a phone call from an officer for the department in the neighboring county of Hertfordshire, and was informed that two other women filed complaints, accusing Tate of rape and repeated strangulation. “I literally broke down and went, ‘Yes, I am,’” she recalled. “I felt stronger. I felt like, OK, I’m not alone now, I’ve got two other girls.”
The woman handed over voice notes and texts from Tate, including one message in which he wrote, “I love raping you.”
VICE World News disclosed earlier this month that Tate was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and physical abuse in 2015 following separate allegations by two other complainants. UK authorities declined to prosecute. https://t.co/h5NbalnY52
Andrew Tate, who was weeks ago arrested in Romania on charges including human trafficking, had his attempts at an appeal turned down by a court in Romania on Tuesday.
Per a report from the Associated Press, the initial arrest of Tate—who has referred to himself as both “absolutely sexist” and “absolutely a misogynist” in the past—has been upheld by a Bucharest court. As previously reported, a judge had been confirmed to have bumped up what was at first a 24-hour detainment to a 30-day period due to what was then noted as “the possibility of [Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan] evading investigations.”
In a previously shared media release, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) detailed the case—which includes allegations of organized crime, human trafficking, and rape—as counting among its impact “six injured persons” officials say were “sexually exploited” by the group in question. In addition to the Tate brothers, two others were also named as suspects in the larger case.
As has been well-documented, these latest Tate developments began with 20-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg responding to Tate bragging (and tagging her in the process) about his gas-guzzling fleet with a succinct, tweeted joke about small penises.
Shortly after the exchange, news of Tate’s detainment went wide, later resulting in a follow-up roast from Thunberg.
“This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes,” Thunberg said in a tweet referencing speculation that pizza boxes seen in a Tate video played a role in his eventual arrest.
Using a credit card to buy goods online is safer than using a debit card. This is because any fraudulent transaction made using your debit card sees money withdrawn from your bank account but most credit cards come with fraud protection.
Make sure the shop site is secure
If you’re shopping online, you can protect yourself further by only shopping on sites with HTTPS as a URL prefix and a padlock icon to the left or the right of the URL. The ‘S’ in HTTPS stands for ‘Secure’. This signifies that communications between your browser and the website concerned are encrypted.
Update your operating system
Make sure your machine is running the latest version of your operating system and install system updates immediately. Updating your operating system ensures your machine has the latest software to protect itself.
Update your anti-virus software
An out-of-date virus checker is only marginally better than none at all. Hundreds of thousands of new variants of malicious software appear each year in addition to new strains, so the set of malware your virus checker knew about when you first installed it can get out of date very quickly.
Use complex passwords for each account
A recent article by NordPass reported that ‘password’ and variations of ‘123456789’ still rank among the most commonly used. Using capital letters, lower-case letters, numbers and special characters – such as an asterix or a question mark – make passwords much harder for hackers to crack.
Use a password manager
You probably have more accounts than you can remember; so, consider using a reputable password manager such as LastPass. Then use two-factor authentication – such as Google’s 2-Step Verification – to protect your online accounts.
Watch out for Flash
Adobe Flash, a tool used to create online games and animations, is one of the most common ways PCs get infected with malware. Think about disabling it. Adobe isn’t recommending the use of Flash anymore because of security concerns. Check your system.
Avoid putting PII on social media
PII is personally identifiable information, and hackers use this to help them crack passwords and work their way into your confidence for scams. Consider setting your social media profiles so that only friends can see what you put online.
CEO of popular music label Black Avenue Muzik, D-Black, turned 36 on January 12, 2023, and he marked his special day by dropping lovely photos.
In the series of photos he shared on his verified Instagram page, he was spotted rocking a sleeveless winter vest jacket in the colour red. He wore a short-sleeved white t-shirt inside the jacket.
It was a red and white affair as he paired the t-shirt and jacket with a pair of red trousers and white sneakers.
He had a branded Black Avenue Muzik cup in his hand that had his name written on it. To accessorise his entire look, he wore a gold Cuban necklace and a sparkling wristwatch.
For his second look, he wore a long-sleeved shirt with a pair of black trousers. With music being a central part of his life, he posed with the microphone.
To add some swag to the photo, he had a glass of Hennesey in one hand, with his other hand holding his chin.
Meanwhile, as part of D-Black’s birthday, he is hosting a party at Onyx dubbed D-Black Birthday Rave on January 13, 2023. According to the flier, the party starts at 11:59 pm GMT.
D-Black to host a party to mark 36th birthday. Photo Source: @dblackgh Source: Instagram
Many shower D-Black with lovely messages as he marks his birthday
andydostygh said:
Happy birthday, brother. God’s enormous blessings on you
balljbeat stated:
Lonnng, good, happy, healthy, prosperous life is your portion, KING. GODS BLESSINGS ON YOU
djbreezygh commented:
HBD Uncle Des. 67 years no be joke Chaley ✊
stylish_ekikimi stated:
+1 Great man
kofijamar said:
More life king
esi_jollof commented:
You deserve only good stuff❤️
Meanwhile, many celebrity friends of D-Black and many other well-wishers and fans continue to shower the ‘Get On Da Dancefloor’ crooner with lovely messages and birthday wishes.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook will see his annual pay package slashed by more than 40% this year.
The technology giant says Mr Cook requested the cut after criticism from shareholders.
Apple’s compensation committee awarded him a total “target compensation” of $49m (£45.1m) for 2023.
Last year the iPhone maker’s shares fell sharply in the face of supply chain issues and a global economic slowdown.
“The Compensation Committee balanced shareholder feedback, Apple’s exceptional performance, and a recommendation from Mr Cook to adjust his compensation in light of the feedback received,” Apple said in a filing with a US financial watchdog.
The move will see Mr Cook’s annual basic salary unchanged at $3m, as well as a bonus of up to $6m.
The biggest difference to his pay package is how he will be awarded shares in the firm.
In 2022 the company granted him $75m of shares, half of which were based on how well Apple performed on the stock market.
For this year his stock award target has been cut to $40m, with three quarters of that dependant on share performance.
The target for Mr Cook’s compensation for 2022 was $84m, although his actual total pay for last year was $99.4m. That figure included $630,600 in personal security costs and $712,500 for his use of a private jet.
Last year Apple shareholders were urged by a leading investor advisory group to vote against Mr Cook’s pay package.
In a letter to investors, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said there are “significant concerns” over the “design and magnitude” of the package.
The ISS said Mr Cook’s pay was 1,447 times more than the wage of an average Apple employee.
Mr Cook became Apple’s chief executive in August 2011, just weeks before the death of co-founder Steve Jobs.
Under Mr Cook’s leadership Apple became the first company to reach a stock market valuation of $3tn before falling to about $2.1tn during a tumultuous year for the technology industry.
Covid lockdowns at factories in China, supply chain delays and a global economic slowdown have helped push down Apple’s share price by more than 20% over the last year.
The 62-year-old’s personal wealth stands at around $1.7bn, according to Forbes magazine. Mr Cook has pledged to give away his entire fortune during his lifetime.
The Ashanti regional chapter of the Ghana Water Company has urged its customers to comply with them in their quest to supply water to the Kumasi Metropolis on regular basis.
According to a release signed by the regional PRO, Mr. Ebenezer Padi Narh, the company’s inability to supply water on a regular basis to the Kumasi Metropolis since January 9th, 2023, is a result of ECG’s inability to supply adequate power to the Barekese Water Treatment Plant and Achiase Booster station.
“The GWCL deeply regrets the inconvenience the situation has caused and however assures the general public that water supply will resume in full when ECG restores power to the production centres.”
Read the full release below
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, 10TH JANUARY 2023 PRESS RELEASE
WATER SITUATION IN THE KUMASI METROPOLIS
1. Reference to an ECG Maintenance Release on Monday, January 9th, 2023, The Management of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Ashanti Region, wishes to inform our Cherished customers and the public, that our intermittent supply of water to the Kumasi Metropolis since Monday, 9th January 2023, is as a result of ECG’s inability to supply adequate power to the Barekese Water Treatment Plant and Achiase Booster station.
2. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) explains that the dedicated lines which supply power to Barekese and Achiase has encountered some challenges.
3. Management of Ghana Water Company Limited, sincerely apologize to our cherished customers and the public, as Engineers of GWCL and ECG are working assiduously to rectify the challenges as soon as possible.
4. Management assures the general public that water supply will resume in full when ECG restores power to the production centres.
5. The GWCL deeply regrets the inconvenience the situation has caused.
A former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey, has assured ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor, and by extension, the entire ‘elephant family’, that he will not work to divide the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) during his campaign for the party’s flagbearer job.
He gave the assurance when he visited the former president at his Aburi residence in the Eastern Region on Thursday, January 12, 2023.
Announcing to Mr. Kufuor his intention to contest the upcoming presidential primaries of the NPP, Joe Ghartey said he will not disparage any of the other candidates for the race.
Ghartey pledged to promote unity in the NPP before, during, and after the presidential primaries.
President John Agyekum Kufuor was visibly delighted that Joe Ghartey had come to inform him about his presidential ambition.
Ghartey served as Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice and subsequently substantive Minister of Justice under former President Kufour.
Mr. Kufuor, who ruled Ghana from 2001 to 2009, seized the opportunity during the visit to express how happy he was with the performance and professionalism of Joe Ghartey as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
He recounted how, before becoming Attorney-General in 2006, Ghartey was lawyer to his mother, Obapanyin Ama Dapaah, and subsequently lawyer for his elder sister, Nana Druwaa.
Commenting on the conduct of the upcoming primaries, Mr. Kufuor cautioned that all the candidates should show sportsmanship, and that at the end of the race, whoever wins should be supported by all.
He reminded Joe Ghartey that the NPP as a party did not belong to any single individual and that no one is bigger than the party. He also urged that it was important at all times to protect the integrity of the party.
According to John Agyekum Kufuor, he was still confident that the NPP was a better option when it came to the governance of Ghana.
He expressed the hope that the party will work hard and win the 2024 general elections.
Congressional Republicans are demanding to see visitor logs for US President Joe Biden’s homes, arguing that the discovery of classified files at one of his residences is a national security risk.
Mr Biden acknowledged on Thursday that sensitive material was found in the garage of his house in Delaware.
The White House deflected when asked if the visitor logs would be provided.
The justice department has appointed an investigator to look into the files.
News that sensitive documents dating from Mr Biden’s time as vice-president had been found in a private office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington, emerged earlier this week.
That was followed by a disclosure that a second cache was discovered at Mr Biden’s home.
The first batch was found on 2 November, just before the US midterm elections, but only became public on Monday.
Mr Biden kept an office at the think tank after he left the White House in 2017 until he launched his presidential campaign in 2019.
On Thursday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland revealed in a news conference that the second cache had been found on 20 December at Mr Biden’s private home in Wilmington, Delaware.
He added that Mr Biden’s lawyers had called investigators on Thursday morning to notify them of an additional document, also found at the same residence.
Citing the “extraordinary circumstances”, the attorney general appointed Robert Hur, a former senior justice department official during the Trump presidency, to lead an investigation in the Biden files.
Kevin McCarthy, the newly elected Republican Speaker of the House, questioned the timing of the first disclosure and accused Mr Biden of knowingly mishandling the sensitive papers.
“He knowingly knew [sic] this happened going into [the] election, going into interviews. This is what makes America not trust their government,” Mr McCarthy said on Thursday.
Other Republicans on Thursday demanded the president release a log of all the people who had visited Mr Biden’s Delaware home.
James Comer, a Kentucky congressman and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News: “We need to know who all has had access to the president.”
Colorado Republican Ken Buck wrote a letter to the White House calling on Mr Biden to “release all visitor logs”.
Elise Stefanik, the number three House Republican and a New York congresswoman, said that the visitor logs were “a clear matter of national security”.
Mr Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, is also under investigation by the justice department after more than 300 classified files – including some marked with Secret and Top Secret designations – were discovered by FBI agents executing a search warrant last year at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mr Biden again said that his lawyers had notified officials of the discovery and that he took the matter seriously.
The president – who previously described Mr Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified material as “totally irresponsible” – added that the documents were found locked in a garage next to his 1960s Chevrolet Corvette sports car, “not sitting out in the street”.
Lawyers also searched Mr Biden’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, but said they found no additional files.
An attorney for the president, Richard Sauber, said they were co-operating closely with the justice department.
He predicted the investigation would show “these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake”.
Asked whether the Delaware visitor logs would ever be released, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre countered that the Biden administration had restored public disclosure on White House visitor logs that had been restricted under Mr Trump.
In 2017, the Trump administration also refused to reveal the names of most of the visitors to Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf club in Palm Beach during his presidency.
On Thursday, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the attorney general should “immediately” end the investigation he faces over the Mar-a-Lago cache, claiming the special counsel “hates” him.
According to a CNN analysis in October, Mr Biden had spent more than a quarter of his presidency working from his houses in Wilmington or Rehoboth Beach.
The Leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has begun mending fences with its aspirants and supporters aggrieved by the electioneering and aftermath of the just-ended national delegates conference.
As part of the reconciliation moves by the party, some national executives, led by their newly elected chairman, Jonhson Asiedu Nketiah met some malcontents of the party in the Ashanti Region to settle any grudges they hold against other party members.
The delegation engaged in a constructive dialogue with the Ashanti Regional Executives, Members of the Ashanti Caucus, Regional Council of Elders and other identifiable groups within Ashanti NDC aimed at uniting the base of the party and building peace as the party prepares for the must-win 2024 General Elections.
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah after the meeting on Thursday, January 11, 2023, told OTEC News’ Jacob Agyenim Boateng that, the party has made significant progress towards reconciliation in the Ashanti Region.
He described the Ashanti Region as one of the most important areas for the NDC, adding that they will work harder to win more votes come 2024 general polls.
“We take Ashanti Region to be a very important area going into the 2024 polls.”
“We as NDC executives believe the party can not afford to leave any situation of conflict unresolved in the region,” he said.
“We have been here since morning, sat through a series of meeting to ensure the party is united more than ever, and am happy to report we have chalked significant success as far as reconciling in the region is concerned,” he added.
The team, which was led by the National Chairman of the NDC, Hon. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, together with other senior party elders, included Hon. Kofi Totobi Kwakye and Col. Rtd. Larry Gbevlo Lartey.
The delegation also included other National Executives, such as the General Secretary, Hon. Fifi Fiave Kwetey, Deputy General Secretary, Hon. Barbara Serwaa Asamoah and Deputy National Organizer, Kobby Barlon. Also present at the meeting were Chairmen from eight other Regions.
Mr Asiedu Nketiah however called on party faithful to unite and remain committed to the party and the rank and file of the party to rally behind the new leaders to succeed.
The NDC chairman bemoaned the abysmal performance of the governing New Patriotic Party NPP and urged party members to rather focus on winning power in the 2024 polls.
“The Akufo-Addo and Bawumia government has supervised the worst economic conditions in several decades and brought Ghanaians hardship, that is the very reason why the NDC must unite more than ever to win power in 2024.”
The NPA explained the licences were revoked “for noncompliance with the rules and regulations of the Authority on the acquisition and maintenance of their licences”.
However, the authority has cautioned the public against transacting with the blacklisted OMCs.
It also noted that it will bear no liability for any loss or damage that may be suffered by any person who chooses to engage with the affected OMCs in whatever capacity.
A Buckinghamshire mum will receive more than £1,000 and an apology from the council after her son, who has special educational needs, missed out on five months of education.
The issue has been described ‘frustrating’ by the mother, whose son was out of school from September 2020 to February 2021 due to delays in securing provisions for him.
Buckinghamshire Council admitted it made mistakes in its failure to provide education for the boy and has since undertaken a review of its provision for children with special educational needs.
This came as the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), a councils watchdog, found fault with the way Bucks Council responded to the boy’s situation.
The boy has Autism and reached school age in September 2020.
Bucks Council agreed to conduct an education health and care assessment.
The mother, anonymised as Ms B, told the Council she wanted her son to attend a school with an additional resource provision.
An additional resource provision is designed to provide specialist and targeted support for children with long-term special educational needs.
The Council consulted with three schools in June 2020. Two said they could not meet C’s needs. School 1 said it felt it was unable to take C and School 1 did not have an additional resource provision.
As such, Ms B said she would not send C to School 1 because it could not meet his needs.
The Council consulted with schools that had additional resource provisions in September 2020. The mother’s preference was for Schools 2 or 3 because they had additional resource provisions for autism. Neither school said it could not offer C a place.
The Council emailed School 3 in January 2021 and confirmed it would fund an extra member of staff to support C.
C started at School 3 in February 2021 on a reduced timetable for three mornings a week. His time in school increased each week and in May 2021 he started to attend full-time.
School 3 told the Council it arranged the gradual increase in C’s attendance with Ms B.
In October 2021, Ms B complained to the Council that it did not undertake adequate statutory assessments before it issued C’s final EHC plan in December 2020, failed to request a social care assessment for C, did not specify the number of hours of occupational therapy C needed in his 2020 EHC plans, failed to provide SALT from September 2020 to September 2021, failed to provide occupational therapy from February 2020 to October 2021 and did not secure education provision for C between September 2020 and January 2021.
The report found that the Council’s delays meant C missed education provision and EHC provision between October 2020 and February 2021.
In total, he missed eleven term-time weeks of provision. Although four of these weeks were when schools were closed between January and March 2021, C could have accessed online learning, or attended School 3 in person as Ms B was a keyworker.
Ms B paid for C to have weekly tutoring sessions during this period. She was also put to time and trouble chasing the Council to fulfil its statutory responsibilities.
Anita Cranmer, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said: “Buckinghamshire Council apologises for the difficulties the family experienced through the failure to secure provision for their child and has reviewed this case to make sure that the findings support continuous improvement to services for the benefit of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.”
As a result of these admissions, the council took the following actions:
Pay the mother £700 for the seven term-time weeks of education provision C lost.
Pay £200 for the four term-time weeks of education provision C lost.
Reimburse the mother for the term-time tutoring sessions.
Pay £250 for the time and trouble she was put to chasing the Council and the frustration caused by its delays.
A businessman who allegedly collected GH¢385,000 from his colleague under the pretext of securing him with a parcel of land at Cantonment but failed, has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court.
According to the Police, checks at the Lands Commission indicated that the land belonged to the State.
Daniel Tortor Torgbor, charged with defrauding by false pretences, has pleaded not guilty.
The court presided over by Mr Samuel Bright Acquah has remanded Torgbor into Police custody to reappear on January 16.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Agatha A. Asantewaa said Robert Adum Yeboah, the complainant, was a businessman and an Estate Developer based in Accra.
The prosecution said Torgbor was also a businessman and an Estate developer residing in Accra.
It said in 2016, Mr Yeboah was approached by one George Abu Kandala and Issah Boti, both Estate Agents, who informed him that there was a parcel of land at Cantonment for sale.
The prosecution said the complainant expressed interest and was introduced to the accused persons as the owner of the said piece of land.
It said the complainant subsequently negotiated with the accused and they agreed on $700,000 for the acre of land.
The prosecution said Torgbor demanded and collected GH¢385,000 equivalent $100,000 to enable him to prepare documents covering the land but he failed.
It said checks at the Lands Commission by the complainant indicated that the said land was for the State and not for the accused person.
The prosecution told the court that the accused person had promised to replace the land for the complainant.
It said the accused person took the complainant to Sakumono Ramsey Site, but he could not provide documents on the said land at Sakumono.
According to the prosecution, Torgbor had taken the complainant to three different locations in Accra but to no avail and had failed to refund the money.
Death rates from cancer in the US have fallen by 32% over the three decades from 1991 to 2019, according to the American Cancer Society.
The decline is thanks to prevention, screening, early diagnosis and treatment of common cancers, including lung and breast cancer.
The drop has meant 3.5m fewer deaths.
However, cancers are still the second leading cause of death in the US, after heart disease.
In 1991, the cancer death rate was 215 per 100,000 people and in 2019 it dropped to 146 per 100,000 people.
Lung cancer, of which there are 230,000more cases each year, kills the most patients, 350 per day.
But people are being diagnosed sooner, and technological advancements have increased the survival rate by three years.
Breast cancer rates have actually increased by 0.5% a year since the mid-2000s, which the American Cancer Society report attributes to “more women having obesity, having fewer children, or having their first baby after age 30”. Increased presence of fat tissue can elevate levels of the hormone oestrogen, which has been linked to the cancer.
Though having fewer children or having them later has been linked to increasing breast cancer chances, the link is not well understood.
Mortality rates from breast cancer, though, have declined.
The research found that “at least 42% of the projected new cancers are potentially avoidable”, noting that 19% of cancers are caused by smoking and 18% of cancers are “caused by a combination of excess body weight, drinking alcohol, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity”.
The report also examined racial and economic disparities in cancer outcomes.
The Covid-19 pandemic added to already existing difficulties for marginalised groups to get cancer screenings and treatment.
For nearly every type of cancer, white people have a higher survival rate than black people. Black women with breast cancer face a 41% higher death rate than white women.
One bright spot was that cancer death rates in children and adolescents have seen large declines. Since the 1970s, cancer death rates in children have declined by 71% and by 61% for those ages 15 to 19.
Cancer is the second most common cause of death, after accidents, for children one to 14 years old.
Some cancer progress in children has lagged behind adult research due to “lower enrolment in clinical trials, differences in tumour biology and treatment protocols, as well as treatment tolerance and compliance,” according to the report.
The president addressed the difficulties facing the economy while speaking at a gathering with some African-American Harvard Business School students at the Jubilee House. “We’ve had difficulty in the previous few years trying to reorient our economy to thrive again.”
He stated: “Some basic statistics that you are all aware of have set us behind, including the global food crisis, the energy sector catastrophe, and many others, from which Ghana has yet to emerge.”
Giving an update on the IMF talks, Mr Akufo-Addo said: “We are going through the processes with the International Monetary Fund right now and hopefully, by the middle of this month or February, a full-blown IMF programme will be put in place which will help us repair our public finances which took a big hit from external forces.”
In December 2022, the IMF and the Ghanaian authorities reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms to be supported by a new three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of about US$3 billion.
To support the objective of restoring public debt sustainability, the government of Ghana has launched a comprehensive debt operation.
In addition to a frontloaded fiscal consolidation and measures to reduce inflation and rebuild external buffers, the programme envisages wide-ranging reforms to address structural weaknesses and enhance resilience to shocks.
An IMF team led by Mr Stéphane Roudet, Mission Chief for Ghana, visited Accra from December 1 – 13, 2022, to discuss with the Ghanaian authorities IMF support for their policy and reform plans.
At the end of the mission, Mr Roudet issued the following statement:
“I am pleased to announce that the IMF team reached a staff-level agreement with the Ghanaian authorities on a three-year program supported by an arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) in the amount of SDR 2.242 billion or about US$3 billion. The economic program aims to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while laying the foundation for stronger and more inclusive growth. The staff-level agreement is subject to IMF Management and Executive Board approval and receipt of the necessary financing assurances by Ghana’s partners and creditors.
“The Ghanaian authorities have committed to a wide-ranging economic reform program, which builds on the government’s Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) and tackles the deep challenges facing the country.
“Key reforms aim to ensure the sustainability of public finances while protecting the vulnerable. The fiscal strategy relies on frontloaded measures to increase domestic resource mobilisation and streamline expenditure. In addition, the authorities have committed to strengthening social safety nets, including reinforcing the existing targeted cash-transfer program for vulnerable households and improving the coverage and efficiency of social spending.
“Structural reforms will be introduced to underpin the fiscal strategy and ensure a durable consolidation. These include developing a medium-term plan to generate additional revenue and advancing reforms to bolster tax compliance. This will help create space for growth-enhancing measures and social spending. Efforts will also be made to strengthen public expenditure commitment controls, improve fiscal transparency (including the reporting and monitoring of arrears), improve the management of public enterprises, and tackle structural challenges in the energy and cocoa sectors. The authorities are also committed to further bolstering governance and accountability.
“To support the objective of restoring public debt sustainability, the authorities have announced a comprehensive debt restructuring. Sufficient assurances and progress on this front will be needed before the proposed Fund-supported program can be presented to the IMF Executive Board for approval.
“Reducing inflation, enhancing resilience to external shocks, and improving market confidence are also important program priorities. Accordingly, the Bank of Ghana will continue to strengthen its monetary policy framework and promote exchange rate flexibility to rebuild external buffers. As part of the authorities’ debt strategy, a domestic debt exchange has been launched. The authorities are committed to taking the necessary mitigation measures to ensure financial sector stability is preserved.
“IMF staff held meetings with Vice President Bawumia, Finance Minister Ofori-Atta, and Bank of Ghana Governor Addison, and their teams, as well as representatives from various government agencies. The IMF team has also continued to engage with other stakeholders. Staff would like to express their gratitude to the Ghanaian authorities, Parliament’s Finance Committee and all the private sector, trade union, and civil society representatives for their open and constructive engagement over the past few months.”
Michy has been single for almost 5 years now but in the eyes of some fans, she is married to the SM family.
According to the ex-girlfriend of Shatta Wale, despite her separation from the SM boss, some fans still tag as the lover of Shatta Wale. This she says nearly ruined her date as a waiter saw her and started screaming ‘paa paa paaa’ – an SM slogan.
Sharing her most recent experience during an interview with Kwaku Manu, Michy said “January 5th is my four years anniversary of singleness but people still tag me with him“.
“Someone takes me out on a date and a waiter screams paah paah when he sees me. I have to alert him that I was brought out on a date and that I am not here alone. As for the name Shatta Michy I think it has come to say,” she recounted.
According to Michy, “there is nothing I can do to it. I have tried but people still call me by that name so I have left it as it is. We have broken up but it seems I’m still the original Shatta Michy.”
Sharing what she looks out in a man, she revealed that “I’m open to anyone who is stable-minded, mature and rich. As for being rich, it is a must. I have learnt my lessons from suffering with a man. I’m not towing that lane again“.
Michy and Shatta Wale broke up in January 2019 after the dancehall artiste proposed to her on stage at his Reign concert on October 13, 2018. Both lovers who have a 6-year-old son together accused each of cheating and domestic violence.
Ghanaian statesman and politician, Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has refuted assertions that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is an arrogant person.
According to him, the president only gets disoriented when he is not happy about happenings around him.
Speaking in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe added that the president appears to be conceited because of his demeanour when things are not going well.
“I won’t say Nana is arrogant. The word arrogant really is quite different when I look at Nana Addo. Nana Addo is not arrogant.
“Nana Addo, when not happy with issues, gets confused and tries to massage his ego in such a way that you will think he is arrogant. He is not arrogant; I don’t think so,” he said.
Also, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said that the country is currently in a bad state because the people around the president are not giving him good advice.
“What is happening now is that those who can tell Nana Addo that my brother, you are going the wrong way, are not around. That is where the problem is.
“Because some of us cannot understand some of the decisions he takes. There are people outside the government who can advise him if he consults them … one of such people is Dr Wereko Brobby. These are people who will tell you as it is but there are no people like this around the president,” he said.
A fuel tanker containing 54,000 litres of petrol with registration number GT 8109-19 has gone missing.
According to Adom FM, the tanker was heading towards Kumasi when it was intercepted it at Okanta, near Nsawam by a gentleman who identified himself as a police officer.
The said officer tried to stop the tanker at Okanta but the driver who was descending a hill refused to stop.
The police officer then joined a taxi cab with some 3 other persons and chased after the tanker. After stopping them, the tanker driver and his mate were ordered to park the tanker and join the other persons in the taxi to the police station while the police officer remained at the scene.
NADMO Officer for Ayensuano, Nana Minta Snr disclosed on Adom Fm’s Dwaso Nsem that, “when the Police stopped the tanker, the tanker driver suggested that he parks the tanker and close the doors so that he can go with them to the Police station. The officer however told the driver to get into the taxi and that he will personally drive the tanker and follow them”.
According to the NADMO Officer, the taxi made a turn after the tanker driver and his mate sat in and headed back to an illegal checkpoint created by the said police officer at Okanta, where they were tied up by the taxi driver and the other persons in the car.
“the tanker driver and his conductor were left tied up at the checkpoint till some residents came across them this morning and untied them. They then took them to Teacher Mante Police Station. The driver and his conductor then took a taxi to the scene where they parked the tanker only to find it missing,” Nana Minta Snr added.
He also added that, neither the identity of the said person who was dressed in the police uniform nor that of the taxi driver is known.
The NADMO Officer narrated, “the act was done by one Police Officer who was in police uniform and was holding an AK 47 fire arm. The tanker driver and his mate couldn’t make out his name due to the dark; he didn’t mention his name to the driver. The driver said that, if not for the fact that he was holding the gun, he wouldn’t have stopped. So the gun he was holding was what made him stop, not knowing they are armed robbers.”
He added that, the case is currently at Ayensuano Teacher Mante Police Station. He also disclosed the tanker driver’s name as Isaac Abban and added that, they are currently at the police station but the whereabouts of the tanker is still not known.
He however stated that, he has been told a tracker is installed on the tanker so they have informed the owner about the incident and they are trying to track the tanker to find the location.
Actor Big Akwes has strongly argued that he is not responsible for anyone’s loss or grievance if they did business with Patricia Asiedu when she was known as Nana Agradaa and claimed to multiply money.
Ms Asiedu’s supposed ability to multiply money was known as ‘Sika Gari’. The idea was that with her spiritual help, one could cause their money, no matter how small, to increase as gari does when water is added to it. She was stationed at Sowutuom, a suburb of Accra.
Big Akwes, today, Thursday, January 12, 2023, was with Ayekoo Ayekoo host Nana Romeo on Accra 100.5 FM.
His erstwhile advertisement and touting of Nana Agradaa’s ‘Sika Gari’ came up and when he was asked if victims of said scheme, attack him, he responded saying it is a no-brainer: “People attack me and it’s those who are intellectual lightweights who will usually do that.”
He explained by referring to the celebrities who advertised for Nana Appiah Mensah, alias NAM 1’s, Menzgold.
“We were in Ghana when Menzgold came and Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy, Joyce Blessing, Becca and others all did adverts for Menzgold, but when the business collapsed and people lost their investments, who has gone to Shatta Wale or any of these celebrities to go for their monies?” he said and revealed he is a victim of the Menzgold himself.
Big Akwes further explained his relationship with the embattled Nana Agradaa, alias Mama Pat.
“I worked at Thunder TV, and Agradaa was working in Sowutuom. She came to me at the TV station for an interview. She finished and left to her workplace. I wasn’t going with her. I was only a presenter who granted her an interview,” he said.
“And so if her advert plays on the station and you decide to consult with her and what she promised, in line with her advertised work, fails, possibly because you may have also failed to correctly do your part, I’m not involved in it. I’m not part of it,” he added.
“If that’s not the case, then let’s all, aggrieved customers of Menzgold, go to Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy Joyce Blessing and the rest for our monies,” the Kumawood star challenged. “That’s not what happened. They are on the sidelines. When the issue came up, the company and the one in charge of it rather [not the advertisers] were taken on by the government to ensure we receive our monies, even though that’s yet to happen.”
Having said this, he made his point even clearer: “If you have an issue with the woman [Nana Agradaa], confront her and not me. I am out.”
Big Akwes also revealed that though Thunder TV was for Nana Agradaa, she bought the airtime whenever he interviewed her at the station.
“Enock was our Manager who was making the sales and accounting to the woman [Nana Agradaa] every month. I’d do the morninig show, Enock would follow with ‘Ghana Nti’, the sports show would come on and then I return to interview her. After the interview, we part ways,” he expatiated.
The media personality emphasised that it is illogical to accost him if one alleges to be a victim at the hands of his former employer who doubled as a client of the company he worked for.
He categorically stated that he has cut ties with Thunder TV for a year now; his resignation happened on Monday, January 10, 2022. He is currently on Strong TV.
Speaking on his prevailing relationship with Madam Patricia Asiedu, he said: “She’s our madam, and if she has any programme and invites us, we go even though we’ve left her TV station. We keep in touch; we are not at loggerheads with her.”
On Thursday, the GES dismissed the eight students in the Upper East Region for allegedly insulting President Akufo-Addo.
Prior to the dismissal, the students had been on suspension.
The GES says its investigation into the incident confirmed that the students used unsavoury language against the President in a viral video.
It thus described the actions of the students as “very undesirable, and contrary to the acceptable standards of the conduct generally required of any student in Ghana’s educational system”.
Prior to the dismissal of the students, the GES had earlier apologised to the President over the said conduct.
But the news of their dismissal generated a lot of reactions, with many people expressing mixed feelings about the development.
While some berated the GES, others praise the regulatory body.
According to the critics, the decision is simply untenable.
One of the critics, an advocate for children’s rights was unenthused about the decision.
The Country Director of the International Child Development Programme, Joyce Larnyoh said the Ghana Education Service should employ more appropriate means of punishment other than dismissal.
Speaking on JoyNews’ News Desk, Mrs Larnyoh reiterated that no child should be denied the right to education no matter the circumstance.
The Minority in Parliament also stated that the decision was uncalled for and had to be reviewed.
In a statement signed by ranking member on Parliament’s Education Committee, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, the Minority described the decision as ‘harsh’ and ‘retrogressive’.
According to the Minority, even though the students who insulted President Akufo-Addo in a viral video acted out of order, their right to education should not be curtailed.
The statement said the right to education is guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution, hence the move by the GES must be reviewed.
“Whereas the Minority is against the misconduct of the eight students, and condemns same, we wish to state that the decision by the GES to dismiss them is harsh and retrogressive”, the statement emphasised.
Having criticised the decision by the GES, the Minority went ahead to plead with the President to intervene in the matter.
The statement from the Ministry of Education, which was signed by its spokesperson, Kwasi Kwarteng, brings relief to the affected students.
Meanwhile, the eight female students have apologised for their conduct.
President Akufo-Addo has appointed the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mavis Hawa Koomson as Caretaker Minister for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
This follows the resignation of Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto.
In a press statement issued by the Presidency on Thursday, January 12, Director of Communications, Eugene Arhin said the MP for Awutu Senya East will supervise the sector until a substantive replacement is made.
According to him, the President has also accepted the resignation and was grateful for Mr. Afriyie Akoto’s service to the government and the nation.
On Tuesday, January 10, theMinister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto tendered in his resignation letter to President Akufo-Addo.
This came four days after Trade Minister, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, resigned from the government.
JoyNews Presidential Affairs correspondent, Elton Brobbey, in an interview on NewsNight on Joy FM, Tuesday said the Minister had a meeting with the President after which he submitted the letter.
According to him, the President accepted Dr Akoto’s resignation and wished him well in his endeavours.
Sources say this is to enable the former Agric Minister concentrate on his presidential ambition.
Dr Afriyie Akoto is one of the NPP stalwarts eyeing the flagbearership position of the party for the 2024 elections.
Apart from him and Mr. Alan Kyerematen, Mr. Kwabena Agyapong, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, Mr. Joe Ghartey and Mr. Boagye Agyarko have all declared their intention to contest the flagbearership of the NPP.
Meanwhile, the party is yet to come out with a date for the presidential primaries.
Speaking on the same show, Henry Nana Boakye, National Organiser of the NPP said a date will be set for the election “in accordance with our constitution.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the demise of His Eminence Cardinal Richard Kuuia Baawobr has created a big vacuum in the country.
He said his impact on the social and spiritual lives of the people in Ghana, especially the Catholic community cannot be measured.
“Our nation has lost one of its finest citizens, one who will be difficult to replace”, President Akufo-Addo said in Wa on Thursday during the final funeral rites of the late Cardinal Richard Kuuia Baawobr, the then Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wa.
“The news of the death of Cardinal Kuuia Baawobr brought considerable sadness not only to me and to the Catholic Church in Wa but also to all well-meaning Ghanaians”, he added.
President Akufo-Addo said the news of the elevation of Cardinal Baawobr to a cardinal brought great joy not only to the catholic community in Ghana and the people of the Upper West Region but also to the government and the nation at large.
He said to show solidarity for his elevation, the government sent a presidential delegation comprising high-ranking government officials to Rome to witness his investiture rights and to express Ghana’s appreciation for his elevation.
“The death of the cardinal is a matter of deep regret to me, it is a matter of deep regret for our country, and it is a matter of deep regret for the church”, he said.
The President expressed his condolence to the church of Wa, the universal catholic church, and all the people of Wa who had suffered a great loss due to the departure of a “faithful servant.”
Most Reverend Henryk Mieczylaw Jagodzinski, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, prayed that God may grant Cardinal Baawobr eternal rest.
He said: “Cardinal Richard fell asleep in the Lord after a life spent entirely for the church … with the meekness and serenity of the saints.”
He eulogized the late Cardinal as someone whose “figure has had great importance in the life of the church in Ghana, in Africa, and the universal church.”
He said under the guidance of the late Cardinal Baawobr, the Diocese of Wa carried out an intense work articulated on evangelization in the sacrament, evangelization in human promotion, and evangelization in ministries.
“The death of our brother in Christ saddens us, but it is also an encouragement for all of us to continue with humility and simplicity in faithful service to the gospel.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary and all the Angels and Saints to accompany him to the divinity encounter with the Lord”, he said.
Cardinal Baawobr died on Sunday, November 27, 2022, in Rome after he was made a Cardinal by the Holy Father, Pope Francis on August 27, 2022.
Cabinet ministers, Council of State Members, Members of Parliament, the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Minister of Interior, and Regional Ministers among others accompanied President Akufo-Addo to the funeral.
Also present at the funeral were representatives from the Missionaries of Africa (M.Afr.), the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference and priests from other countries, the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, and the Muslim community in Wa among others to pay their last respect to the late Cardinal Baawobr.
The cardinal’s funeral was characterised by solemnness amidst the liturgies, and the Homily by the Very Reverend Farther Stanley Lubungo, Superior General of the M.Afr.
The funeral has been described as one of the best organised and well patronised, which drew mourners from across the country, especially the five northern regions.
President Akufo-Addo donated an amount of GHȻ100,000.00 to support the funeral rites of the late Cardinal while the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament donated GHȻ50,000.00 on behalf of the Speaker of Parliament.
“In recent times, we have been witnessing significant difficulties in the management of the national economy,” President Akufo-Addo said during his speech. “This is largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, which has been exacerbated by the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
Read the full story originally published on September 13, 2022 by www.ghanaweb.com.
Ghanaians have been reassured by President Nana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that their country’s economy will recover despite the devastating impacts of the worldwide pandemic, the coronavirus, and the Russia-Ukraine war.
He said though the economy has in recent times been fraught with several challenges, he is optimistic the challenges will soon come to an end.
“The basic commitment to resolving these challenges, within the framework of due process and democratic institutions, must remain unshaken. And, I am confident that, God-willing, we will overcome these challenges,” he stated.
On July 1, 2022, government decided to engage the International Monetary Fund for a financial bailout amidst the economic challenges.
Subsequently, a team from the IMF arrived in the country from July 6 to July 13, 2022, to engage Ghanaian authorities for a possible economic support programme
The IMF programme, government said is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and safeguarding debt sustainability among many others.
Meanwhile, Ghana is targeting an amount of $3 billion over three years from the IMF once an agreement on a programme is reached.
The new amount requested as a loan is double the government’s initial target of $1.5 billion.
Concerns over the proposed government program to buy oil with gold from the nation will be allayed, according to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, as the nation gets ready to receive the first shipment of oil under the policy in a week.
The government’s new approach is expected to have some teething problems, according to George Mireku Duker, deputy minister for lands and natural resources, who also asserts that intensive dialogues with all stakeholders would continue.
He also said that the first shipment of oil under the new policy is anticipated to arrive in the nation soon—probably within a week.
Speaking at a meeting with the Ghana Chamber of Mines in Accra, Mr. Duker said the meeting at beginning of the year was to enable the ministry bring lasting solutions to concerns raised by the Chamber.
Some of the issues raised concerned local content development, fiscal regime stability; and mine security in the era of galamsey, and taxes among others. On the back of these, he recognised that the Chamber is a key partner in the mining industry – with which government will continue to engage.
Furthermore, during the meeting Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor noted that the Chamber of Mines remains key to attaining the vision of making Ghana a mining hub of Africa. He emphasised the need for deliberate engagement between the ministry and the Chamber to make this vision realisable.
The Chamber, he said, needs to take a leading role in regulation of the mining industry; assuring of the ministry’s readiness to consider proposals and assistance from the Chamber and all other stakeholders.
“As partners, we have to find a proper platform for engagements; and I believe that is the spirit with which we’ve been working for the past two years. We must see ourselves as partners. For us to be able to derive the needed benefits from the sector, we must continue to see each other as partners. As partners, it is important that we have these kinds of constructive engagements,” the minister said.
The Ghana Premier League has been hit with poor stadium attendance in recent weeks at the various stadia across the country.
The low patronage of the domestic top-flight has become a major concern for stakeholders, with some blaming the media for the low attendance at stadium.
With many pointing fingers at the Ghana FA, the former Ghana international has called on all and sundry to up their game in the bid to attract fans to the stadium.
“We have to raise our game, the players, coaches and other stakeholders must all improve. We all have to help because we (Great Olympics) are also struggling in terms of attendance
“Probably, Hearts of oak get the numbers for their home games but is a work we all have to do because it is our own, it’s our job and we all have to help and develop Ghana football” he said.
Great Olympics currently sit 12th positon with 16 points after 12 matches into the Ghana Premier League campaign.
Between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to be politically accepted on any regional level in the country, is a big deal.
But even more specific and significant for these two leading political parties in the country are what kind of numbers or voter turnouts they religiously receive from these regions, collectively.
As is widely known or accepted, the people of the Volta Region have historically always warmed up towards the NDC more, just as the Ashanti Region does for the NPP.
In more specific terms, these regions have become unconventionally known as the ‘world banks’ of these political parties. And rightly so, they have been for many years.
For instance, in the Ashanti Region, out of the 46 constituencies in the region, the NDC currently only has 4 seats to its name. That number has remained the highest number of seats the NDC has had in the region since 1996.
In the Volta Region, until 2020, the NPP had never won a seat. Currently, the tally is 17 to 1 seat in the region for the NDC and the NPP respectively. Previously, since 1996, the NDC had always won all the seats in the region (16 seats in 1996, 15 seats in 2000, 15 seats in 2004, 15 seats in 2008, 18 seats in 2012, and 18 seats in 2016).
Let us not forget also that the founding fathers of both the NDC and the NPP have formed a great part of why there is such a voting pattern for their parties in both the Volta and Ashanti Regions. Jerry John Rawlings of the NDC hails from the Volta Region, while the Danquah-Dombo-Busia trio of the NPP are predominantly from the Ashanti Region.
Could the narrative be taking an interesting twist, or turn, or direction? Well, it may depend on how you take a look at it.
And it would have been a fairer assessment if this was with respect to both regions but interestingly, the bus seems to be stopping more with the Volta Region.
It all started with the conversations on who has done what, and who has done more or not for the region. Ordinarily, that should have been an easy pass for the NDC, who are more preferred in the region, but some questions have arisen on whether or not they actually deserve such a comfortable acclamation.
What exactly did Mahama do for Volta Region? – Obed Asamoah asks:
As the NDC, just as the NPP, prepares to elect a new flagbearer to lead it into the 2024 general elections, a leading member of the National Democratic Congress, Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, has become one of the people to draw in this whole ‘what have you done for the Volta Region’ conversation.
He has asked for answers from former President John Dramani Mahama on exactly what he has done for the Volta Region.
He questioned what the 2020 flagbearer of the party did for the region that is considered the stronghold of their party, while he was in political office, and for which reason he would seek their votes again to lead the NDC into election 2024.
According to Dr. Asamoah, Mahama’s failure to establish tangible developmental projects in the Volta Region resulted in residents voting against the NDC.
Supporting his claim, Dr. Obed Asamoah said the evidence can be seen from how much, in terms of numbers, the percentage of voter turnout from the region in the 2020 elections were, as compared to those of his predecessors; the late John Evans Atta Mills and the late Jerry John Rawlings.
“Vote Region is supposed to be the World Bank of the NDC. What exactly did Mahama do for the Volta Region?
“Remember in the last election, he did not get the kind of votes Jerry and the others were getting; 80, 90 percent (in presidential elections),” he said.
But then something that had happened a few months earlier seems to lend support to the questions being posed by the NDC stalwart.
In November 2022, during the 60th anniversary of the Hogbetsotso Za of the Anlo people, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, made an appearance upon an invitation.
During his address, he courted the anger of residents present, becoming a victim of a booing incident targeted at the presidency, after he started making statements about the achievements of his party, the NPP, in the Volta Region.
As Agbotadua Kumassah, a member of the Hogbetsotso Planning Committee explained later, the people gathered at the grounds of the event started getting agitated when the vice president started talking about the economy.
He explained that the people, being well-aware that some of the things he was saying were false, started to boo at him.
“When he entered the economic situation, that is when the problem started. He mentioned, among others, that they built more airports than any other government, they built more roads than any other government and the people who were there did not see the roads, the airports, the roads he was referring to.
“So, that brought some agitation and it became very difficult to control the people because what he was saying, none of them happened in the area,” he explained.
Agbotadua Kumassah also explained that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s explanations on the government’s works in the digitization field, compounded the anger of the people, leading to them booing at him.
But how true or not are the things he said about what they had been doing?
NPP’s development feats in Volta Region evident – Makafui Woanya:
Being the man at the helm of things in the region for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Makafui Woanya, the regional chairman, has said countless times that his party has been able to perform creditably in the region albeit not so welcomed politically.
He explained in a graphic.com.gh report on January 5, 2023, that the NPP government has been able to revive and perform remarkable progress in some key infrastructural development projects in the region.
Some of these, he mentioned, are the steadily progressing Eastern Corridor Road Project, which is nearing completion; and the ongoing Southern Sector Water Systems Extensions Project.
“The University of Health and Allied Sciences, which the NDC is always quick to claim as their baby, is seeing massive infrastructural expansion,” he explained.
NPP drew its biggest strength from the Volta Region:
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has not been left out of the narratives or claims of what each party has been doing in the Volta Region.
In August 2020, the president said that the NPP considers the Volta Region as a “hallowed ground” that is symbolic of its struggle during the days of the party’s formation.
He added that history had even confirmed that the region had endorsed the NPP, and served as a place of refuge for its political fugitives during its darkest days, and for which reason the party can never discriminate against them.
“It was here in this region that people were most passionate about the political tradition. It was from here that the first people had to flee into political exile after independence, and it was in this region that many chiefs had to flee into political exile, and some died there.
“Many people forget that when J.B. Danquah, the first in the trinity of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia political tradition contested Kwame Nkrumah for the presidency, on Ghana becoming a republic in 1960, Danquah did not win in his home constituency in Akyem Abuakwa.
“But he won in two constituencies, one is right here in Anlo and the other is Ho West. If there was a little brittle tribal bone within my makeup, which there is not, I would not choose the Volta Region as a target. History would not allow me,” he said during a durbar of chiefs of the Anlo State at Anloga, during a working tour of the area.
John Mahama answers questions about what NDC has done for Volta Region:
Dr. Obed Asamoah’s questions have however not been left hanging because like a premonition, the former president, John Dramani Mahama, had touted his achievements in the Volta Region in 2021.
So, two clear years before such a question would be posed, the former president had already spelt out some of the achievements he had made in its ‘world bank.’
Among the tall list of things he said his government had achieved, were in educational infrastructure, health projects, roads, water and sanitation, among many others.
And much later, while speaking at a grand durbar to mark the climax of the Asogli Yam Festival in Ho, President John Mahama lamented the number of abandoned projects in the region, assuring the people that the next NDC government would complete them all.
“Projects started by the NDC have been abandoned and others that are to be completed in the region are being done at a slow pace. For some of the projects, this government asked contractors to stop work.
“But I make a commitment of the NDC that, God willing and thanks to your votes, in 2025, all these projects will resume,” he assured.
Being the newly-elected General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Kwetey, who is also the former Member of Parliament for Ketu South, appears to have a strong say on whose side the Volta Region should stick with.
In a GNA report of Thursday, January 12, 2023, Fifi Kwetey said the region must cement its place as an unmovable bastion of the NDC.
Admitting that the region’s hold as the fortress of the NDC has weakened in recent times, also because indigenes have become increasingly discouraged from identifying with it, he urged them not to lose sight of the fact that the NDC is a party birthed from their backyard.
“Volta is the region where saviours of the nation come from as far as this country is concerned but we need to know who we are, and somehow, we know who we are, and we need to start appreciating who we are.
“Volta must appreciate NDC and back it no matter what. It should become like a religion. We need to let our people appreciate that this is what we are. And I believe if we knew who we were, the situation where the love for this party would start dwindling in this region should not happen,” he said.
The general elections of 2024 is less than 2 years away and although both the NDC and the NPP have each successfully elected new party executives, there are still a few major political hurdles to surmount before the big day in December 2024.
New flagbearers and the election of parliamentary candidates that will represent the parties at the constituency levels in the country will solidify the preparedness of each side of the political coin towards the general polls but it cannot be lost on anyone that with the historic breakthrough that the NPP has made into the Volta Region by winning its first ever seat in parliament, the battle lines are surely drawn.
The Volta Region will play a central role in the elections and whoever emerges the winner will have to command a lot of influence from this region.
After numerous discussions and talks between the government and employees in the public sector, an agreement was reached.
Even though that was not what labor first requested, they did agree to a 30% increase in the Single Spine Base Pay for public sector employees beginning with the 2023 Fiscal Year.
However, Ofori-Atta said due to the current economic issues, this will have a significant impact on the economy even though it will settle all labour unrest in the year.
Per the agreement the 2022 Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) of 15 per cent on the base pay will be discounted.
The salary increment will however take effect from January 1, 2023, according to Minister of Employment and Labour Relations Ignatius Baffour-Awuah.
Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, directed the Controller and Accountant General to effect the changes starting from the January 2023 payroll.
Fifi Kwetey, General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described the Volta Region as the part of Ghana where saviours of the nation come from.
“Volta is the region, where saviours of the nation come from as far as this country is concerned but we need to know who we are, and somehow, we know, who we are, and we need to start appreciating who we are.
“Volta must appreciate NDC and back it no matter what. It should become like a religion. We need to let our people appreciate that this is what we are.
“And I believe if we knew who we were, the situation where the love for this party would start dwindling in this Region should not happen,” he said during a retreat for regional executives at Dzodze in the Ketu North Municipality.
He is concerned that unlike the Ashanti and Eastern regions which are strongholds of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), the NDC’s fortunes in the Volta Region are dwindling.
“Because somehow, they (Ashanti and Eastern) appreciate it, and believe in their party as a religion. Your Religion may not be the best religion, yet that is your religion. It is your responsibility to make sure you fix it, and you change it.”
Kwetey also tasked the rank and file to rededicate themselves to supporting the party and do all it takes to ensure that they sell the NDC gospel as the party gears up to wrestle power after the 2024 elections.
At the opening of the four-day event which was on the theme “Empowering Our Base for Victory in 2024,” Dan Abodakpi, Chairman of the National Council of Elders tasked party executives to unite with MPs and other stakeholders particularly the grassroots to be able to remain formidable.
President of the Ghana Football Association Kurt Okraku has refused to accept responsibility for the Ghana Premier League’s underwhelming support.
The Ghana Premier League has been hit with poor stadium attendance in recent weeks at the various stadia across the country.
The low patronage of the domestic top-flight has become a major concern for stakeholders, with some blaming the media for the low attendance at stadium.
With many pointing fingers at the Ghana FA, Kurt Okraku believes club owners have not done enough to win back supporters to the stadium.
“Our fans are absent, our spectators are absent, we playing football, we doing the business of football bout our fans are not consuming our football. It should be a concern to every club owner that your fans are far away from your clubs and this is not the responsibility of the FA, it’s your responsibility”
“There are other competing entertainment opportunities for every person and if you are not practical, proactive and don’t put up strategies that will bring back your fans believe me, your fans will not come. We need to be pragmatic, scientific and we need to go back to the basics on how to win the twelve man back into our football”
“Usually, it’s very normal for everybody to point fingers at Ghana FA but it’s a lie, it’s your time to do some work, it’s your time as club owners and executives to listen to your fans, go to your fans, find their worries and wore them back and this is a challenge I throw to each one of us. We love our football; we want more money in football but we can’t be sleeping. We have to think about how to win the supporters back to the stadium”
An accident at Gomoa Antseadze near Apam in the Central Region has claimed 7 lives.
The tragic incident which occurred on Thursday, January 12, 2023, involved a Sprinter mini bus with registration number GW7920-22, which veered off into the bush while travelling from Mankessim towards Accra, graphiconline reports.
Fire service personnel reportedly arrived at the accident scene at about 8pm following a report by the [passer-by at the Apam Fire Station.
According to the Central Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Division Officer III, Abdul Wasiu Hudu, the station quickly dispatched the rescue team to the scene and observed a Sprinter minibus was involved in an accident with a number of the passengers trapped in the vehicle.
He said the police carried the dead to the morgue.
Meanwhile, 8 people including an infant have reportedly sustained some injuries.
Alhaji Karim Grusah, a seasoned football official, denies ever saying that the Black Stars management committee members earned $100,000 as an appearance fee at the 2022 World Cup.
The bankroller of King Faisal was said to have confirmed in an interview with Kumasi-based Akoma FM that the Black Stars management committee members received $100,000 each as appearance fees at the tournament.
But Grusah, a member of the management committee of the national team has made a U-turn to deny such report in the media.
“Whoever told that lie will never have peace for the rest of their lives.” He told Sheikh Tophic Senu
He went on to explain: “I was asked a question by the presenter if we received $100k as appearance fees and I asked back if it is wrong for BS MC members to receive that money. Was that to confirm that we took $100k? In any case, I went on to add that we never received anything as appearance fees. So why will someone say I said we took $100k?
“Please I never said that. We will cherish if the government will reward us for steering the nation to the World Cup but we have not received any $100k. I’m always available, anyone who wants the truth can call me to confirm.”
Ghana’s Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif revealed that the government spent $5.1m at the 2022 World Cup.
The Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif disclosed that Ghana spent $5,171,040 out of the $8,166,200 budgeted for the World Cup in Qatar.
The Black Stars exited the tournament at the group stage after losing two games against Portugal and Uruguay.
The deadline for voluntary participation in the Debt Exchange Program had been moved up by the government from December 30, 2022, to January 16, 2023. The Exchange is a program for renegotiating government debt. It should be mentioned that the government has experienced a severe economic crisis marked by elevated interest rates, skyrocketing inflation, a record-breaking devaluation of the cedi, and numerous downgrades of the economy’s credit rating.
This programme was introduced with the expectation that it would significantly reduce the burden of interest payments on the Ghanaian government and save approximately US$1.2 billion in interest between 2023 and 2028, or 7% to 8% of the country’s GDP.
If the debt exchange is successful, the government of Ghana will gain significant fiscal space, while local bondholders will suffer significant losses on their investment in government domestic bonds and notes.
• Offering accrued and unpaid interest on Eligible Bonds, and a cash tender fee payment to holders of Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023;
• Increasing the New Bonds offered by adding eight new instruments to the composition of the New Bonds, for a total of 12 New Bonds, one maturing each year starting January 2027 and ending January 2038;
• Modifying the Exchange Consideration Ratios for each New Bond. The Exchange Consideration Ratio applicable to Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023 will be different from other Eligible Bonds;
• Setting a non-binding target minimum level of overall participation of 80% of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of Eligible Bonds; and
• Expanding the type of investors that can participate in the Exchange to now include Individual Investors.
Impact on Individual Investors
The investing community, the most average Ghanaian, has raised concerns upon hearing this news of restructuring debts owed them by Government. Many people have imitated that this news will worsen their living conditions because they use these coupon payments to pay for expenses such as daily living cost, rent, school fees and a host of others.
Again, a good number of investors in government bonds are pensioners who have invested their pension payouts as a way to receive a periodic stream of income whilst on retirement. Others who require their investment for any profitable project will be impacted as well, as they will be unable to do so at this time.
Holders of bonds maturing in 2023 will receive coupons starting from 2027 to 2033, while those with bonds maturing in 2024 will receive coupons starting from 2027 to 2038.
Imagine a 62-year-old pensioner who owns a Government of Ghana (GOG) bond and will receive its full principal in 12 years. My question is, what happens to this pensioner if he or she dies before the 12-year period is up? This is the reality for many Ghanaians who have purchased GOG bonds. Many of these bondholders will suffer from depression and die prematurely as a result of this situation.
Impact on businesses
Companies that purchased bonds to fund future business expansion with principal payments will be unable to do so from now (2023) until 2027 because they will not be paid (except coupon payments) according to the terms of their bond. As a result, businesses will miss out on much-needed capital injections to help them expand.
This is likely to have an impact on productivity and, to a greater extent, lead to staff layoffs, because if a company is unable to meet its economic obligations or perform at its usual optimal level, the easiest way out is layoffs.
Impact on financial institutions
The financial sector, which includes stakeholders such as local banks, would be greatly impacted by the implementation of this domestic debt exchange, owing to excessive exposure to government-issued bonds. Bank capital reserves would be severely depleted, resulting in liquidity shortages and, in the long run, financial instability in the economy.
The depreciation of their restructured assets, such as government bonds, may cause the asset side of banks’ balance sheets to suffer a direct hit. On the liability side, banks may face deposit withdrawals and the interruption of interbank credit lines. These issues may jeopardize their ability to mobilize resources.
Way forward
The government needs to be more transparent about the bondholders’ choices if they choose not to accept the DDE. As it stands, the exchange document is not clear on what happens if a bondholder refuses the exchange.
The government should also give bondholders an opportunity to discuss and bargain the offered terms since, in my opinion, doing so will result in a fair resolution moving forward.
Also, government needs to assume more burden in resolving the current economic situation. The just-passed budget still has line items that can be shelved for now to create fiscal space to either continue paying investors their coupons and principals, or reduce the impact of the exchange program with favourable terms.
Additionally, I advise the government to immediately halt the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme and promote greater stakeholder involvement.
President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku, says that club owners should be concerned about the low stadium attendance rather than the FA.
The Ghana Premier League has been hit with poor stadium attendance in recent weeks at the various stadia across the country.
The low patronage of the domestic top-flight has become a major concern for stakeholders, with some blaming the media for the low attendance at stadium.
With many pointing fingers at the Ghana FA, Kurt Okraku believes club owners have not done enough to win back supporters to the stadium.
“Our fans are absent, our spectators are absent, we playing football, we doing the business of football bout our fans are not consuming our football. It should be a concern to every club owner that your fans are far away from your clubs and this is not the responsibility of the FA, it’s your responsibility”
“There are other competing entertainment opportunities for every person and if you are not practical, proactive and don’t put up strategies that will bring back your fans believe me, your fans will not come. We need to be pragmatic, scientific and we need to go back to the basics on how to win the twelve man back into our football”
“Usually, it’s very normal for everybody to point fingers at Ghana FA but it’s a lie, it’s your time to do some work, it’s your time as club owners and executives to listen to your fans, go to your fans, find their worries and wore them back and this is a challenge I throw to each one of us. We love our football; we want more money in football but we can’t be sleeping. We have to think about how to win the supporters back to the stadium”
Ex-girlfriend of Shatta Wale, Michy, has stated that she has chosen the path of living a modest and decent life in order to protect her family’s image.
Michy said Shatta Wale is one of the reasons she has chosen to tow this path, adding that, she dreads being used as a means to target the dancehall artiste who has a long list of enemies.
She made these statements in a recent interview while explaining that she has been able to stick to just one man in the period of four years.
Michy, added that although her relationship with Shatta Wale ended in a nasty way, she still upholds his integrity and that of their child, hence, her decision to live a good life.
“I don’t want people having anything against my ex. He has a lot of enemies so I’m very careful with my dealings. He has a reputation to protect. I’ve been with him from the start so I respect the hustle.
“That’s why I’m not all over the place living a wild life. Jumping from one man to another. Someone can even take a video of our sexual escapade and blackmail me or him with it.
“It even happened to Tiwa Savage so I’m careful. This generation is wild and everyone is doing everyone dirty” she stated in an interview with Kwaku Manu.
She, however, outlined some top qualities she seeks in a man.
“Since the last four years I have been single, God has shown me his goodness. So, what are you bringing? If I conduct some checks and balances and I see that what you are offering me I can offer myself, you don’t stand a chance.”
