The Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies manager returns to the team three years after leaving the role.
Basigi is a CAF Licence A holder and has a degree in Health, Physical Training and Recreation from the University of Education, Winneba.
Basigi has had opportunity to handle the Black Queens as an Assistant coach from 2011-2013, moved to head coach from 2013-2017 and now head coach of the Black Princesses. He has been the trainer of Hasaacas Ladies from 2013 to date.
Basigi led the Black Queens to win Gold at the 2015 African Games in Congo Brazzaville and also guided Hasaacas Ladies to 2nd place in the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League in Egypt where they lost to Mamelodi Sundowns in the final.
Basigi has also won four Women’s Premier League titles with Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies. He will be assisted by Ampem Darkoa Ladies Coach Nana Adarkwa and Anita Owiredu.
The Black Princesses will represent Ghana at the 13th African Games scheduled for Accra in August next year.
Leo Da Silva, a former Big Brother Naija contestant, has given advice on the necessity of getting married before the age of 30.
In a post sighted on his Twitter page, Leo who is very conspicuous on the microblogging site said that getting married when a person is still able to choose from a variety of possibilities is vital.
According to Leo Da Silva, a person’s options for a relationship get fewer as they get older. In particular, he recommended males marry before the age of 30 when they are likely to go bald.
“Try to marry before you’re 30. Your options could reduce when you’re going bald.”
When asked about the fate of men who are already bald at 25, Leo Da Silva advised them to undergo a hair transplant and start saving money thereafter.
Leo Babarinde Akinola Dasilva popularly known as Leo Dasilva is a young CEO of a number of companies. He is the MD/CEO of Big Figure Small World Limited. At the age of 17, he founded SODZ Entertainment in England. He later replicated the same company in the United States.
Actress Kisa Gbekle has said it’s probable that the year will end without getting a boyfriend.
In a video where she poured her lamentation in her native language with English, the actress and model complained that she has remained since 2018 but was hoping that the template will be altered in her favour this year but from the look of things, the year will end with the same story.
She was heard saying in the video thus; “I ended 2020 single, 2021 single; It left with 18 days to end 2022 and I’m still single.”
Actress Chita Agwu has disclosed that she proposed to her husband four days after they first met.
The thespian was forced to disclose in reaction to a tweet made by DJ Cuppy, in which she also made the official announcement of her engagement and revealed that she had only known her fiancé for 25 days.
”I can officially announce that I’m engaged! Only 25 days ago during @Gumball3000 driving rally, I met the love of my life.
Sometimes you fall for the MOST unexpected person at the MOST unexpected time and for the MOST unexpected reason. I love you deep @RyanTaylor,’‘ Cuppy tweeted.
While some accused her of fabricating a true love tale, others expressed disbelief at her decision to accept to marry someone she hardly knew.
Chita, however, asserted that it was feasible for such to occur because she is a living example of falling in love at first sight and becoming engaged very quickly.
Wizkid, a Nigerian singer, was paid a large sum for the show in Accra but did not appear.
The ‘Essense’ hitmaker who is known for charging huge amounts for his shows ensured that the organizers of the ‘Wizkid Live In Accra’ settled him in full.
Wizkid also ensured that his accommodation, plane tickets and other logistics were taken care of.
In fact, he also insisted on other peripheral artists being paid in full before they mounted the stage.
Ghanaian entertainment pundit, Arnold Asamoah Baido has revealed, in a social media post, that Wizkid was paid $8000,000 for the Accra show.
He was also paid $25,000 as travel allowances.
Travel Allowance – US$ 25,000
Plus:
-Performance fee for supporting acts
– Venue
– Logistics
– Ticketing
– Promotion/Marketing albeit lacklustre
Results: lukewarm project, bad press, ruined reputation and possibility of refund.
Question: Would you, as an investor, give this venture another try if you had the chance?
There’s a piece for every player and all the cheerleaders; it’s coming!
A Ghanaian show promoter has angrily descended on rapper and singer Lasmid for charging exorbitantly when he is just a newbie in the industry.
Identified as Nana Rex, the young man vented his spleen on the Friday Night crooner for not being reasonable with his charging fee despite having only two hit songs and might probably perform under 30 minutes when he is put on any show.
In a video uploaded on Twitter, Rex said apart from Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy, and Sarkodie who are ‘expensive’, no artist should take event organisers for a ride when they are demanding their pound of flesh-as it were- when contacted for a show.
Rex concluded that event organisers use their events to promote and sustain an artist’s relevance hence they should be reasonable with their prices.
Nigerian music star Burna Boy was recently recognized while watching the Orlando Magic play basketball. The basketball team paid tribute to the Afrobeats artist on the sidelines of the weekend game.
This information was brought to our attention after a netizen uploaded the video depicting the exchange of a personalized “Burna Boy” jersey for the serial hitmaker.
They posed for pictures with the basketball gear and Stuff the Magic Dragon, the official mascot of the Orlando Magic.
Recently, internet users expressed their opinions about the new acquisition made by Burna Boyas he expands his big-boy life.
According to the report, the musician is now the proud owner of new handcrafted jewelry which costs millions of naira.
The artist who goes by the moniker African Giant was spotted showing off some new ice jewelry that said “ODOGWU” in a popular video.
In the video, his colleagues and friends can be seen praising him as the “highest in the game,” to which he replies, “The jewelry cost a million dollars.”
Nollywood actresss Juliana Olayode, popularly known as Toyo baby in the movie Jenifa’s diary, has revealed that she is finding it difficult to stay away from sex.
She made this known in a video via her Instagram page.
Olayode said her body has been fighting against her and it’s almost as if she doesn’t know how her body functions again.
She said, “Your dearest sister has been going through a lot, and my body has been doing gish gish gish, fighting against me and it’s almost as if I don’t know my body again,” she said.
“It’s getting more difficult to abstain from sex. Oh My God, I don’t know, everything in my head is screaming sex. The same pressure you go through, I go through, probably even worse.”
The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry has opened up on how he met and fell in love with Meghan Markle.
According to him, he met his wife through Instagram.
The couple spoke about how they met on the first episode of the ‘Harry and Meghan’ docuseries, which aired on Netflix on Thursday.
According to Harry, the first time he saw Meghan was in 2016. He said he was scrolling through his Instagram feed and stumbled across a Snapchat video of a friend of his with the former US actress.
The picture, Harry said, was that of her using a dog filter that had fluffy ears and a long tongue.
“Meghan and I met over Instagram. I was scrolling through my feed and someone who was a friend had this video of the two of them, it was like a Snapchat,” he said.
“That was the first thing and I was like, who is that?”
On her part, Meghan said it was a mutual friend of theirs that ended up mailing her that the prince was asking about her and then set up their meeting.
The couple tied the knot in 2018. The union has since then been in the public eye over the wave of controversies involving the British royal family.
In 2020, Harry and his wife were stripped of their royal titles as well as public funds associated with royal duties.
The same year, the couple left the United Kingdom for the US after their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey wherein they opened up about their struggles with the royal family.
However, following the death of Queen Elizabeth, their children inherited the title of Prince Archie and Princess Lillibert of Sussex.
Some ladies are very mean and synonymous to the word “parasites”. How can you gladly spend someone’s money when you know that you won’t marry him?
Well, some guys are also the main contributing factors to their own problems. You don’t need a seer to tell you that a girl is into you or your money.
After paying for rent, school fees, and topping it up with a brand new car, a Nigerian man received the embarrassment of his life after his girlfriend said ‘NO’ to his marriage proposal.
Apparently, the lady has a serious boyfriend and was only tolerating the rich guy because of his money and the soft life he provides for her.
Watch the video below to know more…
sholzy23 – She get another boyfriend. This guy just won spoil market for her, nonsense boy
mceetwinko – God bless her and her mindset, pls madarm know am well before anything oh, this days both man and woman get as e be so na Brain Brain ? oga you let her know you before you dey buy Jeep ? too much money ? Asiwaju
moren_morgan – If na me I no go gree cause 1 month relationship, definitely the guy de chase clout ni cause wtf, how sure am I pe he won’t collect the car if we later break up
_cici_nita – But she can just accept in the public
And return the ring to him in private
Instead of embarrassing him like this
tinukevibes – na bf i dey find for this comment section
Minority Chief Whip for the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Caucus in Parliament, Muntaka Mubarak, has dismissed allegations that suggest the Minority is in bed with the Majority.
He said such claims are unfounded and hurtful.
This follows the loss of the vote on the motion of censure against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Since the defeat, the Minority side has received some criticism from a section of the Ghanaian public who say the loss was proof that they have been compromised.
Some have noted that the loss was a “planned, rehearsed and executed maneuver” to create the impression they were working for the greater good of Ghanaians while deflecting attention from their role in the economic mess the country is in.
However, Muntaka Mubarak says that assertion is not true.
According to him, the Minority had done everything possible within its powers to marshal all their forces to vote in favour of a censure against the Finance Minister, however, the unreliability of the so-called ‘Brave 80’ had cost them the win.
“It was a 50:50. You knew they were not very certain, unfortunately the rebels were not in leadership, they were just some few middle-benchers and backbenchers so the courage is not really there… So it’s like at every point in time, you could not tell vividly what they would do,” he said.
He noted that despite the uncertainty on the Majority side, the Minority had managed to bring together every single member of its Caucus to the floor, amidst great sacrifices, to vote against the Finance Minister.
“I had a member in Croatia on that Wednesday, there were two on official assignment in Djibouti, there were two in the US on official assignment, there was one in Sierra Leone on official assignment. I mean I can tell you that about 20 of my members were very far away,” he said.
He noted that such accusations do not take into consideration all of these sacrifices and the fact that the Minority does not have adequate number of seats to upset votes even when they are all present.
“This is where the Minority gets a lot of pain. Anytime this comes we have a lot of pain. A lot of our members who made tremendous sacrifices, I mean the regional caucus leaders, the rankings and the leadership, the sleepless nights.”
“When you hear this it breaks your heart because you see the sad thing is that if those of us in the Minority group were given a number that could do all the things that we had to do, believe me, then when you then blame us we’ll take the blame.
“We have a number that is deficient and a number that constantly, for you to be able to achieve anything you have to reach out to one or two on the other side. And Evans, people are courageous but it’s not going to be easy,” he said.
He added, “Even in the morning there was so much to do on our side, even to select the five [speakers] and there was nothing. I mean you saw the debate, there was nothing that was left that had not been said. There’s no way a group will go and be compromised and come and put up that kind of fight.
“Look at the consistency, look at the heat, look at the attempt to look like it’s like we’re taking the whole day, can we pause and try and continue? No. Evans, we did our best, it’s just that our best was not enough to achieve the set objective,” he told host of PM Express, Evans Mensah.
The Methodist Church of Ghana would intensify its economic empowerment drive among members to cushion them against the hardship in the country.
The Church would offer entrepreneurial skills training among others to position the congregation to earn extra income to support their livelihoods.
According to the Church’s Presiding Bishop, Most. Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo, in addition to this, the church will continue to preach hope and the guaranteed salvation when one “accepts Jesus as Lord”.
He was speaking to the media on the sideline of the inauguration of the Ho Diocese and induction ceremony in the Volta Regional capital of Ho.
“At the church, we give proper orientation where we teach how to make life meaningful.
“The first point is accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour of your life. The second point is where our young people are taken through various workshops, orientation and various educational program.
“We take them through the use of their hands, entrepreneurial skills. This is what we do”, he detailed.
He said the church will not encourage members to engage in economic activities which will degrade and pollute the environment.
He stressed that the inauguration of the Ho Diocese will bring the various opportunities and capacity building programs closer to the youth of the church
The ceremony saw the induction of Rt. Rev. Matthew Zikpi as the Bishop of the Ho Diocese and Brother Lawrence Antonio as the Lay Chairman of the Ho Diocese.
This was said in a statement the association released on December 12, 2022, on Monday.
The association is of the opinion that the GUTA’s call for lower prices on goods and commodities to reflect the Cedi’s appreciation, which is currently trading at GHS12.50 pesewas to USD10, “will bring some relief to the Ghanaian consuming public who are reeling under an economic crisis that has been made worse by skyrocketing prices of goods and services,”
The association reiterated its demands on the Ghana Private Roads and Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Ministry of Transport to heed its calls to “review transportation fares.”
It also called on all stakeholders in the transport industry to “emulate what GUTA has done.”
The APG proposed a 15 percent reduction in transport fares.
The association in its petition noted: “As passengers, anytime the operational costs of commercial transport operators increase, we bear the cost; however, the reverse is not true.”
It further noted its belief that “there must be fairness in the country to bridge the gap between the rich and poor…”
It, therefore, proposed “the application of Automatic Adjustment Formula in determining transport fares” and for the association to have a “representation at meetings of stakeholders of the transport industry where fares are determined.”
Mills Media Limited’s animation movie titled ‘Asantewaa’ has received rave reviews from patrons.
The 3D film premiered at the Silverbird Cinemas on Saturday, 10 December 2022 at 6 PM.
The film, not more an hour-long, starts in contemporary times and recollects the 1900 war fought between the Ashantes, led by their warrior queen Nana Yaa Asantewaa, and the British colonisers.
Speaking to Class News’ Prince Benjamin in an exclusive interview, the creator of the movie, Jesse Sunkwa-Mills, Creative Director at Mills Media Ltd, noted how one showing surprisingly became six by the end of the night.
“From what we were seeing on social media, we knew people were excited about it for sure, but you know how sometimes Ghanaians can be excited and they will show you love online but they won’t really show it physically. At some point, we knew one hall was already sold out, from what we were seeing from our short code sales but we didn’t expect the place to be packed and filled up.
“It happened that we filled up one hall, we had to do another screening, but then the pressure that was coming meant that the second screening which was supposed to have happened 20 or 30 minutes later had to happen right there and then while it was happening, another screening had to happen again and it was a bit overwhelming but really encouraging,” the animator said.
Highlighting the significance of the oversubscription, he added: “This really showed how much Ghanaians have been waiting and yearning to see their stories being told, and I feel that the fact that it’s being told by their own even makes it a lot more exciting for them.”
Jesse had television star Nana Ama McBrown voicing the lead character, Yaa Asantewaa, in the film which is his team’s first after doing “little tiny snippets of short animated art for individuals and businesses and stuff like that.”
Some patrons speaking to Class News shared their views on the movie.
26-year-old Kabukuor, over the robust drumming of traditional drums and dancing in the foyer of the cinema, said: “I thought it was a very good project, it loved the outcome of it and I thought it was very realistic to me as a Ghanaian.”
“I really did enjoy the movie and it surpassed my expectations, and I feel like the audience it’s reaching out to is perfect because a lot of children don’t have something like this, so it’s a great movie, and I enjoyed it,” 26-year-old Elsie said with a smile.
According to 19-year-old Dudzie, “It was fun, it was funny, it was educational, and I was really impressed especially knowing that it was made-in-Ghana.”
“I think that the movie was a little scary for me,” said 7-year-old Nhyira. “The fighting scenes were scary. It was the guns. I think they should take those ones out. I liked it when they were about to fight, though.”
“It was very great. At least we learnt about Yaa Asantewaa and her bravery,” 18-year-old Emmanuella excitedly shared, leaning on an empty cinema seat. Her favourite scenes were where Yaa Asantewaa sought help from the deity Asaase Yaa and fought in defence of her kingdom and to protect the golden stool.
“At first, she was scared but when she went to seek the help of Asaase Yaa, she gained the power to overcome all her enemies. It made me feel, we women can do anything. What a man can do, a woman can do better. So maybe if my brother does something, I can do better.”
Yvonne, looking on as Emmanuella spoke, was eager to speak.
“It was really interesting,” she said with apparent joy on her face. “It was mind-blowing but it was too short. But I know more is to come. However, it was really motivating, knowing how she [Asantewaa] was so fearful and later, she sought help from Asaase Yaa, even though she was not able to defeat the White men she was able to, at least, do something. I like the facial expressions of the characters in the movie. I’m a proud Ghanaian because of this movie.”
Another patron Emmanuel commented, saying: “I feel it’s a huge step for us as Ghanaians as a whole, in the animation industry. I haven’t yet seen much of Ghanaian animation that has really interested me but this is a really huge step. And it highlights the cultural heritage – though it’s more of an Ashanti thing, I feel proud to watch something from my country. The way they highlighted certain parts of history inside it was also profound. They were able to touch me with the way they put in the background music, the fight scenes, and how they were able to touch on the audience’s feelings, it was really good.”
Edwina, a theatre graduate, said:”I don’t think that historically it was accurate enough,” and granting that, “if you’re the storyteller, you get to tell it anyhow you want to,” she continued: “It’s a good attempt. It’s a good start because we don’t get our stories told in this manner so I think it’s a good start.”
“They should have shown the other parts of her life,” though, she added. “Did she have children? How was she like? Because at the end [of the movie], they said she was kindhearted but there was no implication of her being kindhearted. We didn’t see her interacting with anybody. She just called for war, she trained and went for war.
“Overall, I think it was great, great, great stuff, and what I loved most was the sound scoring. It was on point. From the beginning to the end. Like when she was giving her pep talk before the battle, it was the sound [music] that did everything.”
Fafa, a cheeky and eloquent young woman with an air of creative competence around her, made some observations in English and Pidgin: “For a small team and animation studio they did a yeoman’s job. I’m assuming this is also their first attempt at making something long like this. On the animation, I would say, probably with the resources they had, this is what they could do and it’s fine because animation is expensive – 3D animation is very expensive to do, so we’ll give them credit for what they’ve been able to do.
“The fight scenes were interesting, I like the energy it brought to the film. The training montage too and the film score was fantastic, the one who did it did a good job. A lot of the sound fit the scenes which was good.”
She hoped also for improvement for casting and scripting for future projects “especially if they’ve got money from six [unexpected] showings.”
Kadi, a lively gentleman sporting a nose ring, was happy to join in: “I’m really happy about this because this is will technically be the first time a comic book has been adapted into film in Ghana. Originally, it was a comic – the comic doesn’t have a lot of stories and you can kind of see that play out here also where there’s not a lot of stories to go on, although this is definitely a jump from what the comic had – I’ve read the comic.
“I really liked the score. The score was really good, although sometimes I felt it was overdone, but I think the theme song for the whole film, the theme song by Eno Barony, it fit really well with some of the scenes.
“I hoped they’d have done 2D because with their level of strength, they would have pulled it off more nicely,” he noted and considering the future said: “It’d be interesting to see what kind of collaborations this kind of film will spark.”
A 21-year-old unemployed young man, who allegedly stole GHS 34,400.00 by logging into Richmond Gyawu’s Ecobank Mobileapplication account has been sentenced by an Accra Circuit Court.
The convict is said to have used part of the stolen money to purchase a Toyota Corolla Saloon vehicle and purchased a plot of land at Juapong.
Master Nathaniel Kponyo, charged on 13 counts of stealing, pleaded guilty at first appearance in Court.
The Court presided over by Mrs Susana Eduful convicted him on his own plea and sentenced him to two weeks imprisonment and to a fine of 1000 penalty (GHS 12,000) unit in default serve a four-year imprisonment with hard labour.
Police Chief Inspector Isaac Anquandah, prosecuting, told the court that the complainant, Mr Richard Nartey, represented the management of Ecobank Ghana, while the convict was a resident of Assin Akonfide in the Central Region.
The prosecution said on July 26, 2022, Ecobank Ghana reported to the Police that they had received some complaints from their customers about some unauthorized transactions on their account leading to the loss of over GHS 1,000,000.00, adding that monies were transferred in bits from the various customers’ bank account via the Ecobank Mobile Application into different mobile money wallets.
It said Police investigations revealed that the convict contacted some of the customers and posed as Ecobank staff to convince them into sharing their One-Time-Pin (OPT) and or Mobile Application Pin after which they would gain unauthorized access into their bank account via Ecobank money application and transferred their monies into different mobile money wallets of pre-registered SIM cards that they have earlier on obtained.
The prosecution said on September 23, 2022, one of the victims, Richmond Gyawu, made a complaint to the Police following the unauthorized transfers of a total amount of GHS38,400 from his Ecobank account into eight vodafone mobile money wallets without his authorization.
It said Police investigations on the mobile money wallets that received the stolen monies led to the arrest of a mobile money merchant at Assin Fosu, where the stolen monies were cashed out.
Further investigations revealed the convict was the one who had cashed out the stolen money.
The prosecution said the convict was subsequently arrested at Juapong in the Volta Region and admitted the offence and mentioned names of his accomplices.
The prosecution said the convict added that his accomplices were the ones who procured the pre-registered SIM cards to facilitate the fraud.
It said the convict stated having installed the Ecobank mobile application on his mobile phone, an iphone Xs Max, after which he logged into customers account by randomly entering phone numbers and the last six digits of the phone numbers as the corresponding PIN codes without authority.
Again, the convict indicated that he transferred money into the mobile money wallets of the pre-registered SIM cards he had earlier on inserted into another mobile phone to receive the fraudulent transfers.
The prosecution said the convict thereafter withdrew the money at Momo merchant points and discarded the SIM card once he noticed it had been blocked.
It said investigations also revealed that the convict used the same Vodafone mobile money wallets to receive transfers from the Ecobank account of five other victims.
The prosecution said Police also realized that the convict used part of the stolen money to purchase a Toyota Corolla Saloon vehicle which had been retrieved.
It said manual examination of the convict’s iPhone Xs Max revealed screenshots of the Ecobank Mobile Application log-in with different phone numbers suspected to be that of Ecobank customers and potential victims.
The prosecution said there were also audio conversations between the convict and his accomplices about the Ecobank fraud.
It said the convict refunded GHS 35,000.00 to Gyawu.
The prosecution said efforts were being made to locate the accomplices while other victims of the accused persons were being identified.
A yet-be-identified elderly man got more than he bargained for as a prostitute he slept with and refused to pay, humiliated him before his co-tenants.
The man who appears to be in his early 50s had agreed to pay the prostitute an all-night session but reneged just after one round.
He ended up refusing to pay the prostitute who then seized his phone and refused to give it to him until he pays.
The man in turn refused to allow her to leave the house until she gives him back his phone.
The angry sex worker vowed to send thugs to the house to cause a commotion.
Some co-tenants who had woken up because of the noise pleaded with the sex workers to instruct the thugs she sends to beat only the man because they’re innocent.
Real Madrid, a La Liga team in Spain, is interested in signing Yassine Bono, a goalkeeper from Morocco, next summer.
At the ongoing 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Bono has been a lightning rod for the Atlas Lions.
Morocco has become the first African country to reach the semifinals of the tournament after crashing out Portugal.
According to the Spanish Defensa Central, the 13-time European champions are eyeing a move for the goalkeeper.
Bono will become the first alternative to Thibaut Courtois in the “Santiago Bernabeu”.
Courtois was absent for quite some time from Real Madrid’s matches this season, due to injury.
However, Sevilla have named 30 million euros for the shotstopper.
Bono is expected to keep the post for Morocco when they come up against France in their semifinal game on Wednesday with kick-off scheduled at 19:00GMT.
The government is to establish a 175 million Euros new campus to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) Nsoatre site at Sunyani West Municipality of the Bono Region.
Ms. Gifty Twum-Ampofo, a Deputy Minister in-charge of Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) made the announcement in an address at a durbar to climax a week-long educational festival and celebration of the 5th anniversary of Obrempong Professor Kyem-Amponsah II as the chief of Fiapre in the Sunyani West Municipality.
It was on the theme “Promoting and Sustaining Quality Education, the Legacy of a Progressive Chief”.
The project, she said was being funded by the Standard Chartered Bank of the United Kingdom, saying “we are at the stage of value for money audit, because we have already gone through Parliament and the Ministry of Finance”.
Ms. Twum-Ampofo explained the project would comprise laboratories, information, communication and technology (ICT) centres, lecture rooms and hostel facilities, saying it would be completed in 28 months to motivate and create access for more students to acquire STEM education.
Barima Minta Afari II, the Chief of Chiraa and the Benkumhene (chief of the left-wing division) of the Dormaa Traditional Area who presided said provision of formal and quality education was a collective responsibility that required the support of all stakeholders to achieve the desired results.
He therefore commended Obrempong Prof. Kyem-Amponsah for his effort in promoting education in the area, particularly with the establishment of the education endowment fund to finance the provision of educational facilities like a library complex and an ICT centre for the benefit of pupils and students.
Artiste manager, Bullgod has asked critics to cut Ghanaian artistes some slack now that Nigerian singer, Wizkid, has proven that he cannot fill up the Accra Sports Stadium.
He said the usual slamming of Ghanaian artistes for not being able to organize sold-out international concerts at some much-rated venues such as the 02 Arena, Madison Square, and so on has to end.
This according to him, is because Afrobeats superstar, Wizkid, who has conquered all these venues, particularly the 02 Arena which has a 20,000 sitting capacity, could not pull the crowd needed to fill the 40,000 Accra Sports Stadium.
His comments are in reaction to reports that Wizkiddid not show up on stage at the Accra Sports Stadium concert where he was billed as the headliner.
Following the development, social media went agog with a series of criticisms from disgruntled patrons who waited for 12 hours just to watch Wizkid perform.
But sharing his thoughts on the ongoing subject during a discussion on Hitz FM, Bullgod said;
“Now that Wizkid has proven successfully that he cannot fill the stadium, nobody should worry our artistes about filling 02 Arena. He also wasn’t able to fill here. Make dem no come worry anybody. We dey bg. Forget the 02 Arena, Madison Square, and let them come and try the Accra Sports Stadium. Then we can have a conversation.”
He however eulogized International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) founder, Rev. Mensah Otabil, for being the only one who has so far been able to fill the Accra Sports Stadium with his usual 31-watch night service dubbed “Crossover”.
“Otabil is still on our chat. The only person to do it.”
A $35.9 million grant program has been launched by the United States Agency for International Development (USIAD) to assist Ghana’s agricultural systems in ensuring food security and enhancing the standard of living for nearly 200,000 people.
The five-year initiative would offer the funding and input required to boost production of maize, shea, bambara beans, soybeans, cowpea, groundnuts, tomatoes, pepper, onion, mango, and moringa, as well as their value addition.
The project, dubbed the Ghana Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) Activity, will help smallholder farmers, especially women and young people, as well as out-growers, buyers, processors, and exporters.
Through the grant facility, which takes effect from March 2023, smallholder farmers and other value chain actors would have access to a financing amount between $5,000 and $25,000 for various projects.
Mr Raymond Denteh, Agribusiness and Financial Services Team Leader, MSR Activity, Ghana, said the essence of the grant project was to make sure that the market system was more resilient, more robust and inclusive.
He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the launch of the project in Accra on Monday, which coincided with a roadshow for stakeholders in the agriculture value chain.
The roadshow would also take place at Tamale, Bolgatanga, Wa and the North East Regions, to help prospective applicants understand the purpose, eligibility requirements, application process and the nature of the grant.
Mr Denteh said USAID wanted to start the project’s rollout as soon as possible, so they would fast-track processes for beneficiaries to access the grant after four to eight weeks of vetting.
He said: “The project is to support and strengthen the agric market system for increased efficiency, productivity and investment to drive economic growth and increase incomes of households in catchment regions.”
He added: “We’ll target women and youth and people with disabilities and focus on commodities that would promote those elements. We want to make sure that the market system is resilient and sustainable, and we’re really committed to it.”
Mr Eric Sunu, the Monitoring and evaluation Manager for the Ghana MSR Activity also said that the grant would target private sector businesses and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), noting that applicants whose projects best aligned with the goals of the project would benefit.
He, therefore, encouraged applicants to ensure that they took part in the roadshows to acquaint themselves with the application processes and requirements to benefit and affect the lives of others.
Mr Sunu said: “The grant is for actors and businesses within the ecosystem to use to implement activities sustainably to will benefit actors and meet the target that has been set out by the donor to the project.”
Some participants at the roadshow lauded the initiative and pledged that the grant received would go to the targeted areas to support the agriculture and food system in Ghana, while improving the lives of people in rural communities.
In light of the historic accomplishment of the Arab nation, Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, sent congratulations to King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
The Atlas Lions became the first African country to progress to the last four after beating Portugal 1-0 courtesy of striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who leapt highest to beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa to the ball at Al Thumama Stadium.
Following the victory, Regragui also became the first African coach to lead a team to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Prince Muhammad bin Salman affirmed that what was achieved is an Arab sporting achievement that made everyone happy, and he also wished success to the Moroccan national team.
King Mohammed VI expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Saudi Crown Prince for his congratulations to his country’s national team, and for his noble feelings towards Morocco and its people.
Morocco’s clash against holders France will take place at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
A win over France will see Morocco become the first-ever African country to reach the final of the World Cup.
The World Bank has provided an additional finance support of US$150 million under the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project, according to Pierre Laporte, the bank’s country director, in an effort to expand Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) benefits and coverage.
The Country Director for Ghana stated at the learning event to conclude the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP): “Through a request from the Ministry of Finance, the World Bank will further support government with additional financing to the GPSNP 2, which will aid in increasing Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) benefits and coverage and expanding to reach other significant social protection programmes.
“These efforts are key to aiding us make gains in poverty alleviation and economic growth, despite setbacks in the agenda as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he stated.
Since 2010, the World Bank has consistently supported Ghana’s government in its efforts to protect the poor and boost economic growth. These include the Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP) with US$138.6million; subsequently, the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP) with US$60million; and currently GPSNP 2 with USS$100million initiated in 2022 and closing in 2025. These interventions have cumulatively reached over 2 million poor and vulnerable Ghanaians.
According to the World Bank, government through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) has achieved significant milestones in reducing poverty by delivering effective social protection systems as an effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 1.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, existing GPSNP programmes and systems were critical as they were used to speedily identify poor and vulnerable people, and Cash Transfers were successfully delivered to those in need; and there was the Single Window Citizens Engagement Services through which individuals were able to call and seek assistance.
The Country Director mentioned that phone surveys undertaken during and after the COVID-19 pandemic’s peak provided evidence the existing social protection systems were effective in supporting the poor and vulnerable.
The GPSNP was implemented in 2018 and closes in December 2022 – after enhancing Ghana’s efforts toward eradicating poverty and vulnerability through improved social protection systems and services to citizens and strengthening safety net systems that improve productivity for the extreme poor.
The Project interventions included: (i) Productive Inclusion activities; (ii) Labour-intensive Public Works; (iii) Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Cash Transfers; (v) Social Protection Systems strengthening including the Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR), the Single Window Citizen Engagement Service (SWCES), and development of management information systems and electronic payments platforms.
As such, the Learning Event will highlight achievements in the digitisation of social protection delivery services; challenges confronting the sector; and lessons learned.
Mr. Laporte highlighted efforts to focus on the strengths of intentionally promoting a digitisation agenda for GPSNP.
“My team tells me that in 2012 LEAP cash transfers were monitored by using paper which was stored in a building at the Headquarters. Today, all services are inputted and tracked by a virtual management information system – which allows the minister, by the click of a button, to know what is happening on the ground. Additionally, the financial capabilities of beneficiaries have been increased because of introductions to bank accounts and saving schemes.”
“Looking ahead with an estimation that about 1 million more Ghanaians could fall into poverty by 2050, as a result of climate change, this calls for the development of robust systems. Leveraging technology becomes even more important to first support relief, enable recovery and, most importantly, build resilience among the poor and most vulnerable,” the Country Director stated.
He added that the agreement will strengthen the cedi relative to the other trading currencies and contribute in reducing the nation’s skyrocketing inflation.
“The eventual conclusion of the programme will assist us in our efforts to restore stability, tackle inflation, and strengthen our currency,” he said.
“That is why the various ingredients of the programme should be supported by all Ghanaians and all stakeholders,” Ken Ofori-Atta added.
Ghana is targeting an amount of $3 billion over a three-year period from the IMF once an agreement on a programme is finalized.
The new amount requested as a loan is double the government’s initial target of $1.5 billion.
The IMF financial bailout is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and safeguarding debt sustainability among many others.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, announced that it has reached a staff-level agreement with Ghana 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.
Emmanuel Kwame Adzavor, a 47-year-old taxi driver, passed away after being detained by Ghana Police Service officers, according to reports
The motorist was reportedly detained for allegedly committing a traffic infringement at Circle, an Accra suburb, and was being transported to the Ghana Police Service’s headquarters, according to a news report by GHOne TV.
The report indicated that the driver, as he was heading towards the police headquarters in the company of the policeman, fell ill and was taken to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), where he died.
The family and the owner of the car of the deceased taxi driver, however, suspect foul play in the death of Emmanuel Kwame Adzavor.
According to the car owner, who spoke to GHONE TV, the deceased driver informed him of his arrest while he was waiting to meet him at Circle.
According to him, he spoke to the policeman who had made the arrest, and he (the officer) was demanding money. He added that the police officer, after a few minutes, called back to say that the driver had fallen ill and he was taking him to the hospital.
“I asked him (the police) what he had done to the driver for him to be taken to the hospital. I took a dropping to Ridge only to see the lifeless body of my son,” the car owner said in Twi.
The brother of the late driver, who also spoke to GHOne TV, said that he is surprised about the death of Kwame Adzavor because he had no pre-existing illness.
He called on the Ghana Police Service to investigate the matter and ensure that the policeman who arrested his brother is punished if he caused the death of the late driver.
He added that, should the police fail to take action, he would avenge the death of his brother.
The IMF in a press release on December 13 said it had reached an agreement with Ghana for US$3 billion under an Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
Ken Ofori-Atta in his remarks noted; “Since the announcement on 1st July, 2022 to formally engage the IMF for an IMF-supported Programme, there have been three rounds of negotiations with the IMF interspersed with a number of virtual meetings in-between to ensure both the GoG and the IMF teams work around the clock to get the SLA by end Dec 2022.”
“Against the backdrop of Staff Programmes, Ghana is indeed blessed to conclude our SLA within 5 months. This is historic in recent times relative to what we witnessed with Zambia, Chad and Ethiopia,” he added.
Read Ken Ofori-Atta’s remarks below:
1. Appreciation:
i. I will like to first of all thank the almighty God for providing the needed guidance to the GoG and the Fund to get us where we are today.
ii. I will also like thank HE the President for his leadership and direction throughout thi3s period;
iii. Let me also express appreciation to the IMF in general and in particular the IMF MD and management, Stephane Roudet, IMF Mission Chief to Ghana and Leo Medina, and the indomitable spirit of the team for their commitment to Ghana during these challenging times;
iv. In addition, I will like to express appreciation to key stakeholders including Cabinet, Parliament, FBOs, CSOs, and members of Academia, for their invaluable contributions to the preparation of the Post-Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) which has underpinned the IMF Programme negotiations; and
v. Last but not the least I will like to express my sincere appreciation to the staff of MoF and BoG’s leadership under Governor Addison and the trusted Deputies for their hardwork and sacrifices throughout this entire process.
2. Context
i. A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes for almost 6 months when Government formally announced its intention to engage the IMF for an IMF-supported programme, to enable us reach this Staff Level Agreement (SLA) today which paves the way for the IMF’s Management and Executive Board to approve Ghana’s programme request early next year.
ii. Since the announcement on 1st July, 2022 to formally engage the IMF for an IMF-supported Programme, there have been three rounds of negotiations with the IMF interspersed with a number of virtual meetings in-between to ensure both the GoG and the IMF teams work around the clock to get the SLA by end Dec 2022.
iii. Against the backdrop of Staff Programmes, Ghana is indeed blessed to conclude our SLA within 5 months. This is historic in recent times relative to what we witnessed with Zambia, Chad and Ethiopia.
3. The IMF Programme
i. The GoG and the IMF teams have worked tirelessly to agree on key aspects of the IMF Programme at the Staff Level.
ii. Key deliverables over the period include:
a) Preparation of the Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG);
b) A Medium-term macroeconomic framework;
c) Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) and Debt Management Strategy;
d) Structural reforms to address structural bottlenecks, improve competitiveness and promote efficiency and effectiveness;
e) A Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP); and
f) An Agreement on Prior Actions which are expected to be completed before the Fund goes to the Board.
iii. Ghana stands ready to complete all Prior Actions before the end-March 2023 but more importantly, Ghana is committed to the IMF Programme as a whole.
4. The SLA is only one aspect of the approval process. More is yet to be done to secure IMF Management and Board approval. That notwithstanding:
i. Key fiscal measures, structural reforms, and the medium-term macro-fiscal framework in the 2023 Budget are aligned with the IMF-supported Programme. It is therefore crucial that we receive support from all stakeholders including:
a) Parliament to ensure that the 2023 budget including all revenue measures are passed; and
b) Creditors to ensure a successful debt operation
Truly, the eventual conclusion of the program will assist us in our efforts to restore stability, tackle inflation, and strengthen our currency.
That is why the various ingredients of the program should be supported by all Ghanaians and all stakeholders.
We can only get to the IMF Board if we get sufficient commitment from our creditors in support of the debt operation.
i. The 2023 Budget is anchored on increasing domestic revenue mobilization effort by 1.2 percentage points of GDP. On the expenditure side, the 2023 Budget proposes to reduce expenditures (on commitment basis) by about 2 percentage points of GDP from 2022 to 2023. Primary expenditures are expected to be reduced through a reduction in allocation on the Use of Good and Services and Domestically Financed Captial expenditure on a commitment basis.
ii. These fiscal adjustments alone are not enough to address the country’s economic challenges, hence the ongoing debt restructuring aimed at restoring debt sustainability in the medium-term.
iii. The 2023 Budget contains important social protection measures to support the most vulnerable including measures that seek to gradually increase the number of beneficiary households as well as the value cash transfers under the LEAP.
Other social protection programmes which will be prioritised under the programmes include the NHIS, the Capitation Grant, and the School Feeding Programme.
5. Concluding Remarks:
iv. We are optimistic that the 2023 Budget adjustment strikes the right balance between determination and pragmatism.
v. Already, the economy is responding positively to the news of GoG and the IMF reaching an SLA and we are eager to leverage this momentum to the very moment when the IMF Executive Board approves the Programme request. We are already seeing significant improvements in the exchange rate with the Ghana cedi recovering against major currencies.
vi. We hope that Ghanaians will continue to support all efforts to restore macroeconomic stability and promote robust and inclusive growth.
vii. We are confident as a resilient people, and we shall rally to support this great enterprise, to restore macroeconomic stability and promote robust and inclusive growth. The world is looking at us, and I know we can do it.
viii. To God indeed be the glory for the great thing he hath done within 5 months. I am certain that God who began the good work will continue until it is finally finished – Greater things He will do. For we shall gather the harvest with joy.
ix. These indeed are both times for a Joseph recovery and a Nehemiah rebuilding
x. Let us continue with courage, the spirit of love for each other and self-discipline to go through this together.
The University of Ghana lecturer encouraged the government to form a commission for the nation’s rice production immediately.
He claims that if the government focused on domestic rice production, the nation’s $1.2 billion yearly rice import expenditure might be reduced.
While praising government’s intention to reduce rice imports, the development economist suggested that government should set up a committee that would include players in the rice industry’s value chain and discuss how to fully implement the ban on rice importation plan.
“Ghana imports $1.2 billion worth of rice annually. This can be reduced drastically if we concentrate on the local production of rice,” he stressed.
The Development Economist added that the committee will monitor and involve stakeholders in the rice business to make sure there were no lapses as local rice starts to take a larger share of the market.
He made this call at an economic forum organized by the Danquah Institute in Accra, according to Graphic Online.
In addition to that, he also stated that when that was done, not only would it curb the rapid fall of the cedi but also create jobs for Ghanaians who would earn more and pay taxes for economic growth and development.
“We have to manage our economy well by simply paying attention to some of the key sectors that drive economic growth,” he said.
He finally added that raw materials from agriculture should be turned into finished goods through manufacturing.
I will like to first of all thank the almighty God for providing the needed guidance to the GoG and the Fund to get us where we are today.
ii. I will also like thank HE the President for his leadership and direction throughout this period;
iii. Let me also express appreciation to the IMF in general and in particular the IMF MD and management, Stephane Roudet, IMF Mission Chief to Ghana and Leo Medina, and the indomitable spirit of the team for their commitment to Ghana during these challenging times;
iv. In addition, I will like to express appreciation to key stakeholders including Cabinet, Parliament, FBOs, CSOs, and members of Academia, for their invaluable contributions to the preparation of the Post-Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) which has underpinned the IMF Programme negotiations; and
v. Last but not the least I will like to express my sincere appreciation to the staff of MoF and BoG’s leadership under Governor Addison and the trusted Deputies for their hard work and sacrifices throughout this entire process.
Context
i. A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes for almost 6 months when Government formally announced its intention to engage the IMF for an IMF-supported programme, to enable us reach this Staff Level Agreement (SLA) today which paves the way for the IMF’s Management and Executive Board to approve Ghana’s programme request early next year.
ii. Since the announcement on 1st July, 2022 to formally engage the IMF for an IMF-supported Programme, there have been three rounds of negotiations with the IMF interspersed with a number of virtual meetings in-between to ensure both the GoG and the IMF teams work around the clock to get the SLA by end Dec 2022.
iii. Against the backdrop of Staff Programmes, Ghana is indeed blessed to conclude our SLA within 5 months. This is historic in recent times relative to what we witnessed with Zambia, Chad and Ethiopia.
The IMF Programme
i. The GoG and the IMF teams have worked tirelessly to agree on key aspects of the IMF Programme at the Staff Level.
ii. Key deliverables over the period include:
a) Preparation of the Post-Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG);
b) A Medium-term macroeconomic framework;
c) Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) and Debt Management Strategy;
d) Structural reforms to address structural bottlenecks, improve competitiveness and promote efficiency and effectiveness;
e) A Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP); and
f) An Agreement on Prior Actions which are expected to be completed before the Fund goes to the Board.
iii. Ghana stands ready to complete all Prior Actions before the end-March 2023 but more importantly, Ghana is committed to the IMF Programme as a whole.
The SLA is only one aspect of the approval process. More is yet to be done to secure IMF Management and Board approval. That notwithstanding:
i. Key fiscal measures, structural reforms, and the medium-term macro-fiscal framework in the 2023 Budget are aligned with the IMF-supported Programme. It is therefore crucial that we receive support from all stakeholders including:
a) Parliament to ensure that the 2023 budget including all revenue measures are passed; and
b) Creditors to ensure a successful debt operation
Truly, the eventual conclusion of the program will assist us in our efforts to restore stability, tackle inflation, and strengthen our currency.
That is why the various ingredients of the program should be supported by all Ghanaians and all stakeholders.
We can only get to the IMF Board if we get sufficient commitment from our creditors in support of the debt operation.
i. The 2023 Budget is anchored on increasing domestic revenue mobilization effort by 1.2 percentage points of GDP. On the expenditure side, the 2023 Budget proposes to reduce expenditures (on commitment basis) by about 2 percentage points of GDP from 2022 to 2023. Primary expenditures are expected to be reduced through a reduction in allocation on the Use of Good and Services and Domestically Financed Captial expenditure on a commitment basis.
ii. These fiscal adjustments alone are not enough to address the country’s economic challenges, hence the ongoing debt restructuring aimed at restoring debt sustainability in the medium-term.
iii. The 2023 Budget contains important social protection measures to support the most vulnerable including measures that seek to gradually increase the number of beneficiary households as well as the value cash transfers under the LEAP. Other social protection programmes which will be prioritised under the programmes include the NHIS, the Capitation Grant, and the School Feeding Programme.
Concluding Remarks
iv. We are optimistic that the 2023 Budget adjustment strikes the right balance between determination and pragmatism.
v. Already, the economy is responding positively to the news of GoG and the IMF reaching an SLA and we are eager to leverage this momentum to the very moment when the IMF Executive Board approves the Programme request. We are already seeing significant improvements in the exchange rate with the Ghana cedi recovering against major currencies.
vi. We hope that Ghanaians will continue to support all efforts to restore macroeconomic stability and promote robust and inclusive growth.
vii. We are confident as a resilient people, and we shall rally to support this great enterprise, to restore macroeconomic stability and promote robust and inclusive growth. The world is looking at us, and I know we can do it.
viii. To God indeed be the glory for the great thing he hath done within 5 months. I am certain that God who began the good work will continue until it is finally finished – Greater things He will do. For we shall gather the harvest with joy.
ix. These indeed are both times for a Joseph recovery and a Nehemiah rebuilding
x. Let us continue with courage, the spirit of love for each other and self-discipline to go through this together.
On the other side, the local currency, the Cedi, declined against the major trading currencies, which caused enterprises to struggle or, in some cases, fail as they tried to stay in business.
The government took certain steps to strengthen the Cedi so that it could compete with other major trading currencies, particularly the US dollar, but these actions were only temporary because the Cedi continued to fluctuate.
Transport fares have also witnessed an upward adjustment which have subsequently led to an increase in the price of goods and services, the business community have also bemoaned the high import duty and other taxes.
But in all things, believers of the gospel – the bible – will say the creator of all things deserves praise as he makes a way when there seems to be no way.
Inasmuch as government had earlier said it wouldn’t go to the IMF for help though there were signals that the economy had become weak and many things had to be fixed, it made a U-turn to seek help.
With several consultations, back and forth, the Bretton Woods institution has reached a staff-level agreement with Ghana for a $3-billion extended credit facility.
At a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, attributed this success chalked in the IMF deal to God Almighty.
He said, “Indeed, to God be the glory, for these great things He has done within five months…I am certain that He who began a good work will continue until it is finally finished.”
“Greater things I believe He will do and let us all gather the harvest with joy. These indeed are both times for a Joseph recovery and also a Nehemiah rebuilding,” the finance minister stated.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, announced that it has reached a staff-level agreement with Ghana 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.
According to the IMF, the authorities’ strong reform programme is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability of Ghana’s economy.
An IMF team led by its Mission Chief for Ghana, Stéphane Roudet, said Ghanaian authorities have launched a comprehensive debt operation by way of restoring the country’s public debt sustainability.
Following criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo’s underwhelming performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Italian forward Mario Balotelli Barwuah, who is of Ghanaian heritage, defended the Portuguese star.
Ronaldo has been heavily criticized for his performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the subsequent elimination of Portugal in the quarter-finals by the Atlas Lions of Morocco.
Amidst the media crusade, Balotelli, who is not a fan of Ronaldo and has not been shy to make it public, has said that Ronaldo should rather be celebrated and not crucified because of what he has done for football.
“I’m not a big fan of Ronaldo, and you know it. But for what he has done for football, he deserves more respect,” Mario Balotelli said, as quoted by popular football enthusiast Frank Khalid on Twitter.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty goal against the Black Stars was his only goal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after featuring in five games against Ghana, South Korea, Uruguay, Switzerland, and Morocco.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Euros and the UEFA Nations League for Portugal, but it is very likely that he will end his career without the World Cup.
International Disc Jockey, Florence Otedola who goes by the name DJ Cuppy and her fiance’, Ryan Taylor are serving their fans couple goals.
Ryan posted a picture with Cuppy both on the floor enjoying their meal. Ryan captioned the picture, ‘If there’s no seats around, we’ll sit on the floor and eat our food no stress’.
This was after he proposed marriage to Cuppy to publicly announce their relationship. They have since been seen together having fun.
Meanwhile, alleged cheating videos prior to his proposal was dug out by some fans who questioned his fidelity.
Ryan did not address the rumour neither has Cuppy also says anything about it. They have ignored all the accusations and just focused on spending quality time together.
Popular Ghanaian fashion critic Charles Tamakloe, known in showbiz as Charlie Dior recently bumped into actress Nana Ama McBrown at a program.
It was a beautiful moment for the two personalities to meet for the first time after knowing themselves online all these years.
Celebrity goddess Nana Ama McBrown was so friendly and happily welcomed Charlie who was overly excited about meeting his celebrity – perhaps.
He is seen hugging and jumping and heaping praises on McBrown who gave him the same vibe.
However, it got uncomfortable at a point as Charlie kept shouting at the top of his voice and tormenting McBrown with tight hugs.
Nana Ama McBrown played it down after saying she was waiting for Charlie Dior to pick up her photo and scrutinized her on her fashion critic show but it never happen.
Charlie Dior revealed that he’s ‘bought’ Nana Ama’s look on his show over and over as the actress always gets it right.
Charlie Dior went on to say that McBrown has dished out several iconic looks among her colleague celebrities.
Charlie Dior has described their moment together as priceless!
Yvonne Nelson has taken to social media to blast them to stay out of her business.
According to her, one of the females in the industry contacted her to help her secure a plot of land.
She hooked the person up to someone but it appears other things happened that she obviously didn’t like.
The mother of one disclosed that she refused to be fake like them and they cannot take it.
She went on to warn them to stay out of her business and sent to aspiring mentees that she would inspire them from afar.
She wrote; ‘These industry ladies keep approaching me, trying to get into my biz, when they realize I can’t pretend/fake like the whole industry does, they get mad. You want a plot of land, I hooked you up, why so bitter? I wanna inspire you from afar! Y’all stay away.’
There are claims that Yvonneis not free with most of her colleague actresses. She has cut them off to save herself from unnecessary drama.
The World Cup frequently serves as a marketplace for emerging talent, and a football player’s value might radically shift as a result of their success there.
Online Money Advisor has analysed the current market value for each player in the national teams and compared it to their market value at the beginning of the season to see which players have seen the biggest increase in value this season as well as which players have the highest value, going into the World Cup.
Key Results:
Arsenal midfielder, Thomas Partey is the Ghanaian player with the highest current market value. He is currently valued at 575 million GHS.
Asante Kotoko’s Ibrahim Danlad is the player with the lowest current market value. He is currently valued at 2.3 million GHS.
Salis Abdul Samed, who plays for French side RC Lens, has seen his market value increase by 105 million Ghanaian cedis since July 2022 and is the Ghanaian player that has had the biggest increase in market value since then.
Brighton right-back Tariq Lamptey has had the biggest market value drop since July 2022. His current market value is now 225 million GHS after a decrease of 45 million GHS.
Over the weekend, Ghanaians who had spent exorbitant amounts of money to purchase tickets for a Wizkidshow in Accra had a rude awakening after the singer failed to make an appearance.
Disappointed patrons waited at the Accra sports stadium from late Saturday all the way to the early hours of Sunday to no avail – Wizkid refused to arrive and perform.
Other Ghanaian artistes such as King Promise and R2Bees also followed Big Wiz’s lead.
Per reports, Wizkid was not happy with the attendance and production quality of the show and thus decided to swerve fans.
He later did the same in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, but managed to fulfil his obligations in Cotonou, Benin.
Wizkid has released a statement apologising to Ghanaians, claiming he would never compromise on some things for his shows and promising refunds.
Following the incident, one Ghanaian artiste who would have been over the moon would be Shatta Wale.
Wale has warned against Ghanaians neglecting our own artistes for Nigerians and Wizkid showing Ghanaians pepper appears to vindicate him in a way.
Whilst Wale has yet to explicitly react to the incident, Efia Odo claims she knows he’s laughing in happiness somewhere.
“Shattawale is somewhere laughing his a** offfffff,” Efia Odo wrote on Twitter in the wake of the scandal.
Knowing Shatta Wale – you can’t disagree!
Shattawale is somewhere laughing his ass offfffff😂
Dr Ben Asante was given the honor for his incredible and transformative work at Ghana Gas which has seen the company become the foremost service provider in the country.
The award ceremony which was held at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra on Saturday, December 10 recognized Dr Ben Asante as someone who since taking over the mantle of leadership at Ghana Gas has worked hard to propel the company to its current strong and enviable level.
On the night, Ghana Gas bagged a total of three awards with the company coming tops in the Oil and Gas Service Company category and Excellence In Corporate Social Responsibility (Upstream).
In a citation, the organizers touted Ghana Gas as a company that “owns and operates the infrastructure required for the gathering, processing, transporting and marketing of gas resources in Ghana and internationally.
“Ghana Gas, together with its partners successfully completed the expansion of the Takoradi distribution station. This has increased capacity from 130mmsaft to 405 capable of handling increased flows from the ten Jubilee and Sankofa fields.”
In the area of sports, Ghana Gas has funded the construction of a number of astroturfs across the country.
In education, Ghana Gas has constructed classrooms, dormitories, and science and ICT laboratories in various parts of the country. The company has also undertaken renovation of dilapidated educational structures in certain parts of the country.
In Ashanti Region, Sekruwa Mampong to be precise, the Gas Company has constructed 10-bedroom teacher’s quarters at Sekruwa to give quality education in the community. Construction of a six-unit classroom block at Sekyere Kumawu and Tamale metropolis (Mangul Kukuo in The Northern Region) have been in force by the gas company.
Another six-unit classroom block and a library at Diani in West Mamprusi (Kukuo Janga) in the North-East Region of Ghana has been constructed. In the Keta Municipal Assembly, the municipality has benefited from Ghana Gas in the area of teacher’s quarters at Kedzi. In Oti Region, Krachi East Municipal Assembly to be precise, there has been the construction of a two-unit kindergarten block with ancillary facility at Wurubuw at Tumikope and Bumbusu. A three-unit classroom block at Three-Town Senior High School at Ketu South has also been completed. In Upper West, Wa municipal has benefited from the gas company with a three-unit classroom block for Charingu school for pupils to ease their burden. There is also the construction of a three-unit classroom block at Charia, a three-unit classroom block at Kanpaha, construction of 1NR compound and 1-bedroom semi-detach residential accommodation at Kadia.
These are but just a few of the educational projects undertaken by Ghana Gas.
Ghana Gas also constructed toilet facilities for some rural communities in the country and funded projects that seeks to improve sanitation and water provision in communities across the country.
Jay Bhad was captured in a video offering to have a romantic encounter with Efia Odo but was disgraced by the actress.
Efia Odo does not shy away from the camera whenever she wears any of her skimpy clothes.
To some people like Rapper Jay Bhad, Efia dressing like that is appealing to the eyes, and will do anything to spend some ‘quality moments’ with the actress.
JayBahd was impressed by Efia Odo’ssassy figure and tried to shoot his shot at her but he was rendered powerless in a video that went viral on social media.
The Asakaa member was seen inaudibly asking Efia Odo out but she rudely brushed off his proposal and walked off.
Jah Bhad couldn’t resist her but Efia Odo bluntly told him, he was too broke to have a lady like her as a partner.
“You can’t afford this body,” Efia Odo said to him and walked off while Jah Bhad continued to convince her.
Speaking at the 2nd Annual District Auditors’ Conference on Monday, December 12, 2022, the Vice President since assuming office in 2017, the Akufo-Addo government has made a sustained, aggressive push in the fight against corruption by enacting laws, tightening existing ones, and introducing greater digitalization in governance and the use of public funds while increasing resources allocated to the fight.
“On assuming office, corruption was prevalent in many areas such as the DVLA, where one had to pay a bribe to ‘goro boys’ in order to get a drivers licence; same thing at the Passport Office; Customs and other officers were having a field day at the ports; it was difficult renewing ones NHIS, and for some reason, dockets kept getting ‘missing’ at the courts.
“There was inadequate funding for anti-corruption agencies; the Right to Information Law had not been passed; there was no legal backing for a beneficial assets register; and no law on Witness Protection.
“But since 2017, we have taken a number of far-reaching steps in the fight against corruption, including the implementation of a digitization agenda to disrupt corruption in the public sector.
“To further boost the fight against corruption, deficits in logistics and personnel of law enforcement agencies, especially the Ghana Police Service, and other accountability institutions, are being addressed,” he emphasized.
“For instance, since 2017, Government has increased budgetary allocations to all the accountability institutions of State, including Parliament of Ghana, the Judiciary, CHRAJ, EOCO, the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, the Auditor General, the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Ghana Police Service,” Dr Bawumia stated in Accra.
While commending the Auditor General, Mr Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, the Board of the Audit Service and staff of the Service for the “very good work being done”, Vice President Bawumia reminded the District Auditors and their colleagues across the country that when corrupt activities such as financial improprieties such as misappropriation of funds, payroll fraud, and contract and procurement irregularities take place, the expectation of the taxpayers is that the public officials who commit these financial crimes would be sanctioned according to law.
“One of the functions of the Auditor-General which can combat these financial malpractices is disallowance of any item of expenditure which is contrary to law and surcharge the amount of any expenditure disallowed.
“The public, and, in particular the Civil Society Organisations have expressed dissatisfaction that the Auditor-General has not performed this critical function effectively. I am informed that the District Auditors will use greater part of this conference to discuss this very important topical issue of disallowance and surcharge. I expect these discussions to produce outcomes to inform the processes for disallowances and surcharges.
“Nevertheless, let me assure the Auditor-General and Members of the Audit Service Board that in the same spirit of cooperation, The Government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will continue to provide the necessary support to the Audit Service to ensure that it operates independently as the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana mandates.”
The head pastor and founder of Alabaster International Ministries said Hon. Amoako-Atta and his associates wouldn’t get away with costing the state money.
The dynamic and prolific preacher strongly asserted during his sermon at his church (Alabaster House Chapel) on Sunday that the current generation would take the situation into their own hands and see to it that Amoako-Atta is put behind bars for his careless and irresponsible decision to end road tolls collection in the country.
Prophet Dr. Oduro, who preaches the Bible with authority, also criticized President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, claiming some of his leadership actions, such as burning heavy machinery like excavators, were incorrect. He claimed that the President’s and some of his appointees’ mindsets continue to plunge the country far below the surface.
“I’ve sat down to analyze opportunities that came to us and we wasted it… The opportunities that God has given this nation is overwhelming, gold, bauxite, diamonds, timber, we have all kinds of woods, yet we are suffering.
“Let me tell you some of the wastes of this nation; the re-opening of the tollbooths, for 1 solid year, tracks from Burkina Faso, Togo, other places driving on our streets for free, what a waste!
“And then another decision; we arrest people during galamsey and we pour petrol on their excavators and burn them, you don’t even have graders to grade roads, wise thing is to take the excavators, sell them and use the money to buy a grader or payloader and use it to work, there’re many Assemblies who don’t have the excavators, give it to them; to burn an excavator and you have bad roads? what a waste!
“I’m telling this government and the opposition, both of you; this generation will chase you, I’m standing on this alter and you are all witnesses, one day, a people will come and bring this Roads Minister and all his accomplices to jail, you’ll say I told you; there’s a heartless generation, you may be an oldman dying but they’ll bundle you and throw you into jail for causing financial loss to the state,” the outspoken preacher said in a live video.
Prophet Dr. Oduro, therefore, pleaded with the President to assist his cabinet in making the most of the time and the season, as in his opinion, they [Akufo-Addo and his ministers] would never be able to recapture the chance they currently have.
According to GhanaWeb Business sources, the briefing would reveal a specific resolution to months of negotiations as the government looks to the IMF for a bailout program.
The IMF Mission Team, which recently visited the nation, is anticipated to report that it and the Ghanaian government have reached a staff-level agreement for a fund program.
Prior to the announcement, the sources emphasized that there were still a few important issues that needed to be “ironed out” before today’s formal announcement. This was as of yesterday [December 12].
The Stephane Roudet-led IMF team has been in town since December 1, with the main mission of following up on engagements with government on its Economic Recovery Program.
This follows Justice Baffour’s last week rejection of the GH90,000,000 settlement agreement reached by Ato Essien and state prosecutors.
William Ato Essien, the founder of the now-defunct Capital bank, pled guilty to accusations of misappropriating depositors’ funds as well as other theft-related offenses such aiding theft, conspiring to steal, and money laundering, among other things.
According to the Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, investigations conducted by the state showed that some 65 million and 35 million cedis were used by another company; Capital African Group to acquire shares in Capital Bank, and this amount was paid through Ecobank.
Upon realising this, the share acquisition was reversed and the money was retained by Capital Bank.
These amounts formed part of some 192 million the accused persons have been charged with and therefore, the share acquisition was revoked and the amount retained.
Ato Essien is standing trial with the Managing Director (MD) of the defunct bank, Fitzgerald Odonkor, and the MD of MC Management Services, a company said to be owned by Essien, Tettey Nettey.
The prosecution has accused the three persons of engaging in various illegal acts that led to the dissipation of a chunk of the GH¢620 million liquidity support given to the Capital Bank by the BoG between June 2015 and November 2016.
Court initially rejected 90 million cedis:
The Accra High Court had, prior to this, rejected an amount of GH¢90million by William Ato Essien, after lawyers of same had informed the judge; Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, in the last sitting that the accused person had agreed to pay GH¢90million as restitution to the state.
The move by Essien was pursuant to Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459) which allows an accused person to plead guilty and pay restitution to the state in cases in which there had been financial loss to the state.
This was rejected by the judge on the basis that, the money which was obtained by Mr. Essien in 2015 was done when the cedi to dollar exchange rate was GH¢3.79 pesewas and therefore it will be a shortchange for the state if the monies were refunded using the same rate rather than the current GHC13 with interest.
According to the judge, if he accepted the agreement in its current form, it meant people who had committed crimes would be made to profit from it.
The judge also ruled that the case did not fall under Section 35 of Act 459 because the monies involved did not belong to the state but rather to depositors and shareholders of the defunct Capital Bank.
The court also wondered why Essien wasted the time to go through three years of trial and only agree to pay the money a day before the judgment.
The judge therefore adjourned the trial to December 13, 2022 for the prosecution and Essien to come back with a better deal and also convince the court whether the trial was one that fell under Section 35 of Act 459.
Background
Capital Bank was one of the first banks that collapsed after a massive clean-up of financial institutions by the BoG started in 2017.
On August 14, 2017, its licence and that of UT Bank were revoked by the BoG, after the BoG had declared them insolvent.
The BoG allowed the state-owned bank, the GCB Bank, to acquire the two banks in order to protect depositors’ funds and also enable them to stay afloat.
The hurricane that swept through the banking sector due to the collapse of the two banks further heightened in August 2018 when the central bank collapsed five other indigenous banks and merged them into one entity — Consolidated Bank, Ghana.
In preparation for Morocco’s semi-final match against France at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, head coach Walid Regragui has reportedly declared a state of emergency in the team’s training facility.
The source added that the coach forced the players to hand over their phones to the team’s management, with the aim of putting them in a state of full concentration.”
The players only get on their phones for two hours a day in the evening, and then they go to their rooms, in order to go to sleep.
This is the self-discipline believed to have helped the team to this far at the tournament.
The Atlas Lions became the first African country to progress to the last four after beating Portugal 1-0 courtesy of striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who leapt highest to beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa to the ball at Al Thumama Stadium.
Following the victory, Regragui also became the first African coach to lead a team to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Morocco’s clash against holders France will take place at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
The market valuations of each Ghanaian player since the start of the season were examined by Homegrown Investments, an online financial counselor, to determine which player’s transfer value has climbed the highest since July 2022.
Salis Abdul Samed, who plays for the RC Lens has seen his market value increase by 105 million Ghana Cedis since July 2022 and is the Ghanaian player that has had the biggest increase in market value since then.
His current market value is now 150 million Ghana Cedis following his impressive performances in the French top division which earned him a place in Ghana’s squad for the World Cup.
In second place are the Ajax star player Mohammed Kudus and the Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey who have both seen their market value increase by 75 million Ghana Cedis.
Kudus was the one to watch in the Ghana team ahead of the World Cup after a blistering start to the 2022-23 season for Ajax in the Eredivisie and in the UEFA Champions League.
Top 5 value increases of team Ghana players since July 2022
The request is an addition to the one made by the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) to the business community to modify prices for goods and services in light of the Cedi’s recent performance against the US dollar.
This year, the cedi to dollar exchange rate reached $1 to GH15, but it now trades slightly above GH12.50 to the dollar.
In a statement issued over the weekend, GUTA urged the Government to continue with more efforts to sustain the program and bring relief to the business community.
“As the value of the Cedi begins to appreciate, GUTA wishes to appeal to members of the business community to also adjust prices of goods and services accordingly, to make the consuming public feel the impact of this positive trend,” the statement added.
“We hope to see further and continuous appreciation of the Cedi and envisage that the economy will turn around in the shortest possible time,” GUTA said.
The currency, having lost more than 50% of its value in the year, gained 10% against the dollar.
Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Mr. Eric Agyei observed that although the Cedi was performing better as against the Dollar, most business owners have refused to reduce the prices of their goods and services.
Citing fuel prices, he observed that although fuel prices have reduced, the ‘trotro’ drivers have refused to reduce the price of transportation fares, therefore calling on the institutions that matter in terms of the regulation of prices to come in immediately to ensure that the prices of goods and services are adjusted.
“Last week, I went to buy fuel and there is a significant change in the price, but ‘trotro’ drivers do not want to reduce the fares, so the Institutions that matter in terms of price regulation must come in because it is not everything that the government can come in and that is why the government has sectors, and all the prices must come down because when things go up, they increase prices, but when things go down, you say you will not reduce prices and we have to look at that,” he said.
Meanwhile, he assured that the cedi will keep appreciating for sometime due to some measures put in place by the government.
When Dr. Bawumia welcomed the board and leadership of the Association to the Jubilee House on Monday, December 12, 2022, to discuss issues affecting Ghanaian farmers, particularly the impact of climate change and the significance of irrigation to year-round farming, he made the aforementioned statement.
The vice president used the occasion to outline the various steps the government is taking to ensure the building of dams, particularly the multipurpose Pwalugu Dam, whose construction the vice president said the government will oversee with the help of the World Bank and also invite participation from the private sector.
“In the meantime, GH¢253 million has been allocated in the 2023 budget towards the construction of the Pwalugu dam,” he told the farmers.
He noted that when completed Pwalugu will, at 25,000 hectares, almost double the amount of irrigable land in Ghana while controlling yearly flooding from the spillage of the Bagre dam and provide 60mw of electricity.
The Atlas Lions defeated Portugal 1-0 at Al Thumama Stadium thanks to striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who sprang highest to beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa to the ball. This victory made the Atlas Lions the first African nation to advance to the round of eight.
Morocco will face holders France in the semifinals at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
“Morocco wrote history. They have presented a wonderful tournament so far. They have a good coach and many distinguished player.
“By reaching this role, they are a team that is, of course, a candidate to win the World Cup title,” Del Piero said.
Morocco have kept four clean sheets in five matches, only denied 100 per cent record by an own goal conceded against Canada in the group stage.
A win over France will see Morocco become the first-ever African country to reach the final of the World Cup.
,” Efia Odo wrote on Twitter in the wake of the scandal.