The R&B, Afropop, and Afro beats singer in an interview on Y107.9FM’s “Dryve of Your Lyfe” with Kojo Manuel indicated that to get a good number of streams, one must look beyond the borders of Africa.
“It does not make sense to say I am a Ghanaian artiste so I am making collaborations with Ghanaians only,” he cited.
The young artiste made it known to listeners that he had recorded remixes of songs that he liked or believed were good music and then makes a request to the owner of the song to do a verse.
“I know that this music has potential so I would love to do a verse,” he added.
“I wanted to do a remix with Mayorkun, and there’s no way I will reject a verse from King Promise and then Darkoo sends me a verse. For me, plenty meat does not spoil the soup,” he mentioned while recapitulating how he bagged a verse each on his song Sugarcane which sequels with a remix that was released also this year and had features from Nigerian artiste Mayorkun, Ghana’s King Promise and UK rapper Darkoo.
Ghana captain, Andre Ayew has reacted to criticism of his brother’s performances during the ongoing 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Crystal Palace forward was taken to the cleaner following Ghana’s opening 3-2 defeat against Portugal at the 974 Stadium.
Replay shows that the 29-year-old lost possession three times during his time on the pitch and was faulted for his role in Portugal’s third goal.
However, the former Swansea City forward started against South Korea and assisted twice Ghana’s first two goals were scored by Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kuduthen in the first half.
However, his elder brother has been speaking about his qualities after he starred in Ghana’s 3-2 win over the Asians.
Jordan Ayew came off to a standing ovation from Ghanaian fans at the Education City Stadium.
Speaking about his brother’s performance, Ayew said his brother’s qualities as a footballer were not in doubt.
“It’s not the first time (that Jordan has played well)… I think he’s just someone that people just want to speak bad about but they in their hearts know the kind of quality that he is…”.
Ghana, who now sit 2nd with three points return to action on Friday with an anticipated game against Uruguay at the Al Janoub Stadium with kick-off at 15:00GMT.
The Black Stars need a win or draw to be able to play in the next round of the tournament.
Seated on his immediate left was Inaki Williams and next to Inaki was Black Stars and Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey who asked him to “say something to the boys.”
Overwhelmed by the gesture, Ati-Zigi expressed his profound appreciation to the players.
The 7th International Trade Show & Conference on Agriculture, Food & Beverage Technology on West Africa Agrofood and Plastprintpack has opened in Accra, Ghana with a call on West African countries to seize opportunities at the fair to increase self-sufficiency in the agriculture value chain.
The three-day conference – Tuesday, November 29 to Thursday, December 1, 2022, christened: “7th Agrofood & Plastprintpack West Africa 2022,” is organised by Fairtrade Messe in collaboration with its local partners, Geovision.
It is aimed at helping countries in the West African Sub-region to increase self-sufficiency and also improve supply in the agricultural value chain.
Six countries are mounting pavilions at this year’s exhibition.
These are Germany, Italy, Iran, The Netherlands, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
In total, over 90 exhibitors from 20 countries will showcase products, technologies and solutions specifically tailored for the West African market.
Welcoming exhibitors to the fair, the Managing Director (MD) of Fairtrade Messe, Paul Maerz, disclosed that the exhibitors come from countries including Belgium, Burkina Faso, Egypt, France, Ghana, Spain, Hungary, Sri Lanka Turkey and United Arab Emirates.
The rest, he mentioned, are Ivory Coast, Italy, Morocco, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa and USA.
According to him, the West African market for agricultural technology has become very key.
He said this against the backdrop that West Africa imports of agricultural machinery has reached around 200 million euros annually.
“West Africa’s food & beverages technology imports increased by 5.8% annually from 496 million euros to 694 million Euros in 2021 (VDMA),” he revealed.
Further, Mr. Maerz said West African imports of plastics technology accounted for 217 million euros in 2020, having increased from 219 million Euros in 2018 to 263 million euros in 2019.
He, therefore, seized the chance to express gratitude to their Ghanaian partners including the Ministries of Food and Agriculture; Trade and Industry; Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation; the Association of Ghana Industries; and Food and Beverage Association of Ghana.
The Director, Plants Protection Services at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) Mr. Eric Bentsil Quaye, said agriculture is the mainstay of Ghana’s economy and continues to contribute heavily to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“It also creates employment and generates income through export,” he added.
According to him, farmers in the West African sub-region and other places are facing loads of challenges.
He attributed the problems confronting farmers in West Africa in particular to global activities such as the Covid, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and Climate Change.
These negative developments, Mr. Bentsil Quaye said, have brought about food security challenges in the region.
However, he was happy to assert that the Government of Ghana’s (GoG) flagship programme of Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) has largely helped sustain the country’s food economy.
He said Ghana’s agriculture strategy synthesises government’s policy framework and action plans for attaining self-sustained growth in all the agriculture sub-sectors.
Again, Mr. Quaye indicated that MoFA was reducing the importation of inorganic fertilisers by encouraging the private sector to invest in organic compost.
“We have also built adequate warehouses to address post-harvest losses often associated with harvest,” he said.
All these measures, he pointed out, are geared towards boosting food production in Ghana and described the trade conference as “timely,” and commended the organisers.
In a brief remark, the Italian Ambassador to Ghana and Togo, Ms. Daniela d’Orlandi said Italy and Ghana have a strong bilateral relations which has worked well for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
She said the trade fair will further bolster the relations between Italy and Ghana, adding that it will afford Ghanaian companies the opportunity to network and connect with Italian companies.
The Deputy Head of Mission, Federal Republic of Germany, Ms. Suvine Jansen, who was very impressed with the number of exhibitors at the event, revealed that 11 German companies will be exhibiting products.
Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of the Portuguese national team, saw FIFA take away the opening goal against Uruguay.
Bruno Fernandes delivered the cross, and Cristiano Ronaldo leaped for the ball, which ended up in the bottom of Uruguay’s goal.
FIFA first credited the goal to the national team captain, but then changed its mind and credited Bruno Fernandes as the scorer.
After the final whistle of the match, Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the authorship of the goal, when leaving the field: “It touched me. The ball touched me,” he said smiling.
The phrase “football is nothing without fans” has become so accepted as to be cliché among some commentators. But Chinese state TV has been testing that assumption to its limit throughout the World Cup.
On Monday, as Ghana beat South Korea in a classic World Cup clash, subtle changes to China’s coverage of the match ensured viewers were not exposed to images of maskless supporters – and to a world moving on from Covid restrictions.
Those watching on the BBC – and in most places around the world – will have seen their screens filled with the image of a beaming, maskless, Ghana fan celebrating excitedly as the camera zooms in.
After Mohammed Kudus fired home the winner in the 68th minute, images of dancing and cheering fans – as well as shots of anxious South Korea fans – were beamed around the world.
But not in China, where those watching on the state broadcaster’s sports channel, CCTV 5, will have experienced these moments differently.
Instead of being shown the raucous fans, Chinese viewers saw the reactions of South Korea’s coach Paulo Bento and Ghana manager Otto Addo.
And as the game reached its conclusion, shots of tearful South Korea supporters with their heads in their hands were conspicuously absent on the Chinese output.
The change is subtle but very deliberate.
As anti-lockdown protests rock China, state TV executives have been careful to avoid beaming images of a world largely moving on from Covid-19 restrictions into citizens’ homes.
It is not unusual for broadcasters at major tournaments to be given the option of choosing their own camera angles, and some often set a slight delay to allow the editing and selection of pictures before the public sees them.
The BBC observed that there was roughly a 52-second delay between its own coverage of the match and CCTV 5’s.
Colourful images of crestfallen South Korea supporters were also missing from the coverage
But in this case, the changes appear to have come after images of maskless fans celebrating in packed stadiums stoked anger in China, where snap lockdowns and restrictions remain commonplace and controversial.
Social media users in China were quick to notice the change, with many expressing frustration at how differently the rest of the world now seems to be treating Covid.
An open letter questioning China’s ongoing zero-Covid policies and asking if it was “on the same planet” as Qatar quickly spread on messaging app WeChat last week, before being censored.
“On one side of the world, there is the carnival that is the World Cup, on the other are rules not to visit public places for five days,” one user of the Weibo social media platform wrote.
Even the state-backed Global Times newspaper has conceded that some fans are “choosing to watch the games at home with their families” as many Chinese cities remain under restrictions.
And while wide angle shots showing some maskless fans are impossible to avoid completely, close up images of supporters enjoying the action free from restrictions are unlikely to return for Chinese fans.
The Executive Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Dr. Charles Nyaaba says maize prices are expected to increase in the first quarter of 2023.
Speaking on Joy Prime, Dr Nyaaba said maize production in the country has dwindled, thus, forcing Ghana to import the cereal from Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.
However, due to the high demand for the product, pricing of the commodity will be affected when the maize season is over in the neighbouring countries.
“Maize farmers suffered in 2021, so the general supply of maize has gone low but there has been high demand.
“So come February, March, April thereabout, the maize in terms of supply will further reduce and the prices will go high because the Burkinabés and the Togolese would’ve finished mopping up what is in the field,” he stated on Monday.
He noted that since maize is a major component in the feed of poultry, managers of poultry farms will be hit hard.
He therefore, urged them to purchase the cereal now that prices are affordable.
“I’ve been telling the poultry farmers that there’s nothing we can do, they should try at this point to also buy some and stock so that in the late season they could also process and use it to feed the birds,” he stated.
Maize is a major staple in the Ghanaian setting, however, in just 10 months the price has risen astronomically, affecting many consumers.
Government, however, is optimistic that things will get better.
He called the action that has not yet been taken by the current demonstration a “great decision.”
In an interview with the morning program “Ghana Montie” on NEAT FM, he commented, “It is really original.
Dr. Bawumia previously said that the government is discussing a new strategy to make sure that the nation pays for imported oil goods with gold rather than foreign currency.
In a Facebook post on November 24, 2022, the Vice President said the policy is expected to take effect by the end of the first quarter of 2023 and form parts of efforts to address the persistent depreciation of the cedi.
He explained that once the policy is implemented, “it will fundamentally change our balance of payments and significantly reduce the persistent depreciation of our currency with its associated increases in fuel, electricity, water, transport, and food prices”.
“This is because the exchange rate (spot or forward) will no longer directly enter the formula for the determination of fuel or utility prices since all the domestic sellers of fuel will no longer need foreign exchange to import oil products,” the Vice president said.
Adding that, “the barter of gold for oil represents a major structural change. My thanks to the Ministers for Lands and Natural Resources, Energy, and Finance, Precious Minerals Marketing Company, and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana for their supportive work on this new policy. We expect this new framework to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2023. God bless our homeland Ghana.”
Huawei has signed a global commitment to join the International Telecommunication Union’s Partner2Connect digital alliance, which will bring connectivity to about 120 million people in remote areas in more than 80 countries by 2025.
Liang Hua, Chairman of Huawei, announced the decision at the company’s 2022 Sustainability Forum, Connectivity+: Innovate for Impact.
The forum explored how ICT innovation could unleash the business and social value of connectivity and drive sustainability in the digital economy era.
Speakers at the event included senior leaders from the ITU and United Nations, telecom ministers and regulators in Cambodia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and business leaders, partners, experts, and customers from China, South Africa, Belgium, and Germany.
“It is clear connectivity alone is not enough. It must be affordable, the content must be relevant and in the local language, and users must have the skills to make best use of it,” said ITU Deputy Secretary-General Malcolm Johnson.
“Thank you to Huawei for their support of the Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition, and for their announced P2C pledges in the key areas of rural connectivity and digital skills.”
Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, called for “multi-stakeholder partnerships” of policymakers, the private sector, academia, and civil society to close “the sobering reality” of a digital divide which excluded a third of the global population.
“Our dynamic world urgently needs improved digital cooperation to capitalise on the transformational potential of technology to create new jobs, boost financial inclusion, close the gender gap, spur a green recovery and redesign our world to be more prosperous and inclusive,” he said.
“Now is the time to act”.
In his keynote address, Dr Liang stressed that access to a stable network was a basic requirement and right in the digital age.
For many who remain unconnected, access to reliable connectivity would mark the first step towards transforming their lives.
“Connectivity will be more than just a tool for convenient communications,” he said. “Together with digital technologies like cloud and AI, connectivity will help bring everyone into the digital world, and provide them with access to more information and skills, better services, and wider business opportunities. This will, in turn, drive further social and economic development.”
Cao Ming, President of Huawei Wireless Solution, said: “As an enterprise with the most complete ICT capabilities, Huawei integrates the full-technology innovation potential of the equipment, sites, energy, transmission, and antennas to address the difficulties faced by traditional site deployments, such as high costs, restricted transportation, lack of power, and maintenance challenges.
“We have continuously upgraded the RuralStar and RuralLink solutions to extend quality coverage to remote areas, enabling more people, community hospitals, schools, local governments, and small- and medium-sized enterprises to enjoy the same high-speed broadband connectivity experiences as those in cities”.
The RuralStar series solutions have provided connections for more than 60 million people in remote areas in more than 70 countries.
The construction of optical broadband networks offers another important route to realizing a universal service.
Huawei has proposed an innovative AirPON solution for areas with low population density, including remote areas.
This solution continuously reduces the footprint of equipment rooms, optical fibre installation costs, and network power consumption, while ensuring the rapid deployment of local communication networks.
In Africa alone, Huawei has laid more than 250,000 kilometres of optical fibres, enabling 30 million households to access high-speed broadband.
User experience has seen constant improvement. The average speed of home broadband already exceeds 30 Mbit/s, bringing a smarter, faster, and smoother home network experience.
As ICT infrastructure continues to evolve, innovative technologies like cloud and AI are allowing those in rural and remote areas to enjoy the convenience of a digital world.
Huawei Cloud has proposed the Everything as a Service strategy and made Huawei’s more than 30 years of technical expertise and digital transformation experience available through cloud services.
This means that access to Huawei’s digital infrastructure capabilities on the cloud is now just as easy, affordable, and sustainable as water and electricity.
Digital transformation, digital talent, and new business models are all essential for balanced development in remote regions.
Huawei previously announced that by 2025, with the improved ICT infrastructure, the company will work with partners to enable 500 million people to enjoy digital financial services and 500,000 people to enjoy inclusive education.
In Cambodia, the ITU’s first P2C partner country, Huawei will work with government departments through the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and universities to provide 10,000 training opportunities for ICT professionals in the next five years.
Huawei is committed to inclusive development.
Through its ongoing technological innovation, Huawei is contributing to a higher level of digitalization in remote regions, enabling everyone to enjoy the convenience of digital life, and promoting the balanced development of the global digital economy.
The Minority Leader claims that during the discussion of the government’s 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) members in the August House will make a solid case for that.
, has urged the government to further evaluate the proposed one percent (1%) e-levy at zero rate to 0.5 percent at a threshold of GH300 and above in order to earn support from Ghanaians.
The Minority Leader claims that during the discussion of the government’s 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) members in the August House will make a solid case for that.
The Tamale South lawmaker explained that setting the e-levy at 1% will have a negative impact on individuals and businesses that rely on electronic money transfer services.He thus urged the government to reconsider the newly proposed rate.
“We will subject this new proposal to further critical and thorough discussions as a caucus, but without going into the scenarios, as you look at your scenarios, consider for say of 0.5% at a threshold of ¢300 as compared to what you have admitted of 1% at zero threshold.”
The Tamale South MP hinted that his side was yet to take a decision on the proposed increase of the VAT rate by 2.5 percent.
He, however, warned that the 2.5 percent increase in VAT may have terrible consequences on businesses.
Government announced last Thursday that it was reducing the rate from 1.5 percent to 1 percent and removing the 100 cedis tax-free daily threshold. That means any amount transferred is taxable.
Digital payments have fundamentally transformed lives across Africa by providing access to financial infrastructure and enabling innovation. More jobs have been created, leading to higher incomes that help sustain economies and millions of households.
For the most part, however, that innovation has resulted from private-sector initiatives. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Non-governmental organisations across the continent should also embrace the digitisation of payments. In doing so, they can deliver funds directly to a broader group of people, even in remote regions.
With a global recession increasingly likely, effective and quick digital payments will be important not only to ensure that NGOs can maintain their budgetary spending in the coming year but also that they can provide aid (typically in the form of a grant) and financial support (including small loans) to their beneficiaries.
The power of digital payments
To understand how big a difference NGOs and Global Development Organisations embracing digital payments can make, it’s worth reminding us just how impactful digital payments have been in the private sector.
Many people, especially outside the continent, still default to the example of mobile money if you mention digital payments. But while mobile money undoubtedly sets the tone for many African financial technology innovations, things have improved significantly.
According to McKinsey, Africa’s domestic e-payments market is expected to see revenues grow by approximately 20% per year, reaching around US$40 billion by 2025. Comparatively, global payments revenue is projected to grow at seven per cent annually over the same period. And in 2020, McKinsey adds, domestic electronic payments revenue of US$15 billion was generated from 47 billion individual transactions totalling just over US$800 billion of transaction values.
With the benefits of digital payments growth – including instant payments across borders, cost savings (often increased by legacy systems), and time savings (by having to go into a bank) – that level of growth shouldn’t be surprising.
Factor in the ability for consumers to have access to international products and services they otherwise wouldn’t have had access to (including music streaming and e-commerce services), and it’s easy to see why it makes little sense to talk about African people as unbanked.
The benefits of digital payments to aid disbursement
By digitising aid disbursement, one quick and noticeable improvement is in the reduced cost of transactions. Efficient real-time bulk payment services mean you can eliminate all other costs associated with manual disbursement.
You can directly influence the safety of your aid workers, who often must distribute cash in hard-to-reach areas. People are safer as they don’t have to walk around with large amounts of cash. Receiving payments in real-time could also make all the difference to beneficiaries who need them for survival.
Digitising payments can also improve financial management. That’s because digital payments leave more comprehensive, complete, traceable, and timely records. That makes it more challenging to hide ghost beneficiaries in payroll systems. In Ghana, for example, the introduction of a digital payroll has helped remove thousands of ghost workers, saving the government millions of dollars every year.
Non-governmental organisations also have donors who require accountability. Digital payments provide efficient financial management tools and a much-needed database. Payment processes are simplified, and there’s transparency over finances and disbursements.
Beware of exclusionary tech.
For digitisation to have those positive effects, however, it cannot be exclusionary. It’s pointless, for instance, to roll out an app that allows people to receive grants if most of the people it targets don’t have regular connectivity or internet access.
By deploying inaccessible technology, we can shut out the people whose lives that technology is supposed to improve. It’s, therefore, critical that digitisation schemes are designed to make sense for the majority while still catering to those unwilling or unable to embrace it.
Embracing change
The digital payments opportunities seized by the private and some public sector players show that this is the future of financial inclusion and access on the continent. Switching to digital payments means removing restrictions that stifle aid disbursements. NGOs, particularly those who must disburse across multiple countries and currencies, do not have to deal with complex processes from multiple providers in the process.
The author, Annalisa Plachesi
They can also eliminate errors such as making payments to the wrong recipients and fraud. At MFS Africa, we are very aware of how financial inclusion positively transforms lives on the continent, and our solutions are consciously shaped to provide access to convenient, secure, affordable, and regulatory-compliant solutions to help NGOs and GDOs navigate multiple currencies, domestic and cross-border payments and fast settlements across the continent.
The author, Annalisa Plachesi, is the UK & EU GDO Relationship Manager for MFS Africa
He claims that the TUC is unsure if this is one of the requirements that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set for Ghana’s economic recovery program.
Speaking on Accra-based TV3, Dr Yaw Baah explained, “we still don’t have the details of the IMF conditionality but you will not be wrong if you think this is part of IMF conditions. Since 1965 when Ghana Government started going to IMF, the employment freeze has always been part, of the last one that ended, employment freeze was one but in that case, it was net.
“Net meant that if somebody retires you can replace the person. So, the net freeze is what we need. But this one, we don’t know the details, whether it is the net freeze or total freeze.
“If it is a net freeze then it is like the previous one but if it is a total freeze, it is another ball game altogether. There are 644,000 people on the single spine. Let us assume without admitting that about 5 per cent of them retire yearly.
“If only five percent retire every year, we are talking now about over 30,000 people retiring and if the 30,000 people retire and they don’t replace them it will affect service delivery. If you reduce numbers by over 30,000 and they have not been replaced then your effectiveness in service delivery will be affected.”
According to him, the government will not set up new government agencies in 2023.
The minister while presenting the 2023 budget in Parliament on Thursday, November 24, noted that as the first step toward expenditure rationalisation, the government has approved a number of directives which takes effect from January, 2023.
These are “All Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and State-Owned-Enterprises (SOEs) are directed to reduce fuel allocations to Political Appointees and heads of MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs by 50%. This directive applies to all methods of fuel allocation including coupons, electronic cards, chit system, and fuel depots. Accordingly, 50% of the previous years (2022) budget allocation for fuel shall be earmarked for official business pertaining to MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs;
“A ban on the use of V8s/V6s or its equivalent except for cross country travel. All government vehicles would be registered with GV green number plates from January 2023; Limited budgetary allocation for the purchase of vehicles. For the avoidance of doubt, purchase of new vehicles shall be restricted to locally assembled vehicles;
“Only essential official foreign travel across government including SOEs shall be allowed. No official foreign travel shall be allowed for board members.”
Ofori-Atta added “Accordingly, all government institutions should submit a travel plan for the year 2023 by mid-December of all expected travels to the Chief of Staff; As far as possible, meetings and workshops should be done within the official environment or government facilities; Government sponsored external training and Staff Development activities at the Office of the President, Ministries and SOEs must be put on hold for the 2023 financial year; Reduction of expenditure on appointments including salary freezes together with suspension of certain allowances like housing, utilities and clothing, etc.;
“A freeze on new tax waivers for foreign companies and review of tax exemptions for the free zone, mining, oil and gas companies; A hiring freeze for civil and public servants, No new government agencies shall be established in 2023; There shall be no hampers for 2022; There shall be no printing of diaries, notepads, calendars and other promotional, merchandise by MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs for 2024; All non-critical project must be suspended for 2023 Financial year.”
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, has commissioned a feasibility study for the construction of a new power supply substation in Tamale from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Northern Electricity Distribution Company, and Ghana Water Company.
Alhaji Saibu welcomed the JICA representatives to his office in Tamale and thanked the Japanese government for responding to Ghana’s request for a grant aid to improve Tamale’s power supply.
He said the request led to the feasibility survey for the project for enhancement of power supply reliability in Tamale as a response from the Government of Japan to help develop the power supply in Tamale and its environs.
He appealed to the stakeholders to contribute their quota to make the new power supply substation project in Tamale a success.
Mr Yusuaki Momita, Deputy Country Director of JICA, said the feasibility survey was on track to identify and confirm the components of the project, a coordination development plan at national, regional, and sectoral levels, an appraisal and evaluation of the technical and economic visibility of the project, and an estimation of the cost of the project and the schedule required for procurement and construction.
Speaking on Joy News’ “PM Express” program on November 28, he claimed that despite the finance minister’s impressive reading of the entire budget speech, he had fallen short of offering any significant remedies for Ghana’s failing economy.
He believed that the Ghanaian government had a chance to propose a program to alter any sector of the economy, but particularly the agriculture sector, which is the main source of employment in the nation.
“I think that the Finance Minister spoke nicely written down stuff but substance really gives us less confidence. You look at our problem today; it’s sitting significantly on the fiscal side so we’re expecting to see a lot more fiscal consolidation.
“But what are we seeing? We’re looking at a plan to increase our budget deficit. That doesn’t give us a good signal because that means that we’re going to be crowded out even more from the funding market as businesses because we need to invest in all these projects,” he explained.
“Very nice thing said, but when you look at the budgetary provision for it, it doesn’t seem like it is sustainable. And I take rice, rice has been mentioned a lot of times, I do not see the policy proposition that really seeks to transform a single agric sector. I see intent expressed ‘I want to turn rice around, poultry, maize’ but that’s grammar.
“What exactly are the policy propositions that you intend to roll out? You can’t tell me that you’re looking at a hundred or so thousand hectares of land to develop rice alone. If you really want to cut out imports we need to develop over 450,000 hectares if that’s what you really want to do.
“What are we doing really right now? Less than half of that so exactly what the structured policy proposition to even transform a single sector is not really seen out of this budget and that depresses me. It seems like a lot of rhetoric without real substance to support it,” Senyo Hosi stressed.
Motorists who ply roads within Olebu, a community in the Sowutuom constituency of the Greater Accra Region, are seething with anger over the poor state of the roads.
According to them, all their money go into servicing their vehicles virtually on a daily basis as a result of the poor roads.
The drivers are not the only group unenthused with the poor roads, they are joined in their anger by residents, who also say many commercial drivers refuse to ply the bad roads resulting in many workers running late for work.
Their journey back home from work is no better.
Apart from the recently constructed and therefore in great shape Pokuase – Awoshie highway, the rest of the roads are in serious disrepair.
Right from Vicolis Junction to Dwenewoho, no stretch of the road is tarred and during the rains, the entire stretch is one of mud.
Indeed during rainy seasons, these drivers and motor cyclists struggle moving to and fro, as the rains create potholes and gullies everywhere. There is no breathing space either in the dry season – dust follows and chokes you all the time till you exit.
Some residents and other road users are actually counting the days to the next general elections – for that when politicians marshal resources to come ‘grade’ the roads – and soon after abandon them when the elections are over.
Baba Yammutu, a Station Master at the Olebu taxi rank, cried out his plea to the government to come to their aid because the roads are really in a deplorable state.
“In fact we are suffering for the road, especially when you come down from Vicolis, near the pharmacy going to Omanjor, we are really suffering. Every three days we have to go for maintenance and now the fuel prices are also killing us. I would blame the MPs, the Government and the Assemblyman for the state of the road. The Assemblyman is trying but he has to try more”, said Baba Yammutu.
“The roads are not good, especially from Olebu to Dwenewoho and Omanjor. Sometimes you can even fall with the passenger (pillion) on the motor. This is because of the muddy or sandy parts on the road. The roads are very bad. We plead with the Government to fix our roads for us”, Samson, a motor rider pleaded.
Abdul Rahman, a taxi driver who has been plying the road for the past seven years also shared his frustrations. “I just fixed my car yesterday and it cost 1,200 cedis. The roads are very bad especially during the rainy seasons. I spend more than the sales I get to repair my car. After every three months, I have to buy ball joint, shaft, and sometimes fix my tyre at Abbosey Okai and it is very expensive.
“I don’t blame the Government so much. The Assemblyman stays around and it his duty to send our pleas but he doesn’t. We are pleading with the Government to fix our roads, but we leave the rest to God.”
The Assemblyman for the community, George Nana Adu Darko popularly known as Ageorgia also expressed concern about the appalling state of the roads.
“This road has been like this since the beginning of the world. Now it is even better. We are in a rural community and for us it is not that bad even though we want it better than it is,” he explained.
He denied the allegations he does not forward the needs of the community to the assembly, saying that even though it is not the duty of an assemblyman to construct roads, he is desirous to see development in the area.
Former Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD) CEO Senyo Hosi has stated that the government’s decision to stop providing foreign exchange support for rice imports is not a well-thought-out strategy.
Although there may be goodwill that will impact the decision, he said the policy proposal is reckless and accomplishes nothing to address the issue it was intended to address.
Hosi claimed that in order to develop a more solid and long-lasting policy proposal for the 2023 budget, the administration neglected to consult important stakeholders in the agricultural sector, particularly in the rice sector.
He further explained on Joy News’ ‘PM Express’ that the withdrawal of FX support for rice importers would hit Ghanaians more than improve local production.
“So you have this 57% that’s outstanding, that’s about a million tonnes of milled rice. Who is going to fill the gap? What policy structure do you have in place for us to fill the gap? Because for us to fill the gap, we need to cultivate four hundred and fifty-something hectares. So if you’re not going to do that it means that local production will not fill the gap, so what happens? We still will import.
“But we’re not going to import with Bank of Ghana dollars, we’re going to look for other dollars meaning that the cost of the dollar for those imports will go up. Who is going to make the money? It is the FX traders,” he said.
He continued: “What you could have done is you could have rather introduced a rice development levy or tax, whatever name you want to give it, then you use that money to help support industry grow that four hundred and fifty something hectares required to be able to knock out imports over time. But what have you done? What you’ve done right now, local production is not there.
“You don’t have proper policy to really support or fund us to expand capacity. So you’re going to make money for FX traders who will be sitting down and looking at commodity swaps for rice and other things across the world. I don’t see the sense yesterday, and I don’t see the sense tomorrow over that policy.
“I see a good heart wanting to do a good thing but hasn’t thought through the thing he wants to do. And sadly, he’s not consulting. That policy is off.”
Of all the motley crew of ideas the government of Ghana has churned out in recent days and weeks to deal with the country’s deteriorating public finances, none has caught fire like the decision to start buying oil with gold rather than dollars.
Everyone from crypto-anarchists to goldbugs is doing cartwheels trying to chip in their two cents about how the move contributes to the long-awaited demise of the petrodollar system.
The government of Ghana has professed two goals:
Reduce the pressure on the local currency – the Ghanaian Cedi (GHS) – caused by large fuel importers’ perennial search for US dollars to bring in fuel from overseas. In the government’s new model, the country will buy locally produced gold in local currency and exchange the gold for fuel produced in the Gulf or elsewhere.
By removing the dollar input into local pricing, it aims to offset the effects of the alarming depreciation of the Cedi on retail fuel prices, and thus moderate price rises at the pump. That is to say, if the dollar exchange rate is no longer a factor in how wholesale prices are set, then they won’t factor into retail prices either, and the breakneck depreciation of the Cedi won’t be passed through into final prices paid by consumers.
Are these hopes valid? Is the programme even feasible at all?
As for technical feasibility, there is no doubt that it is feasible. After all, Ghana is hardly the first country to mull this idea.
As far back as the 70s, major oil exporters in the Gulf initially responded to the Nixon shock (the jettisoning of the “gold standard” by the US that led to gold prices rising from $35 to $455 by the close of the decade) by broaching the idea of being paid with gold directly. That is if the US was no longer going to back the dollar with gold (i.e. redeem the dollar with gold on demand), then, the oil exporters argued, they might as well just take gold as payment for their wares.
In the event, the Gulf-based oil exporters abandoned this stance and opted to instigate oil “price shocks” instead. Within three years the price of oil went from $3 to $12 a barrel.
An even earlier case study of the gold-oil barter phenomenon would be the use of Philadelphia-minted gold coins by American oil explorers to pay royalties in Saudi Arabia in the 1940s.
More recently, between 2011 and 2012, India and Iran explored the use of gold as a payment for Iran’s sanctioned oil. Iran in fact tried to scale the program internationally but failed to find enough takers. Turkish brokers and government intermediaries however dug in until, in 2016, Reza Zarrab, a Turkish banker with vast regional networks, was arrested in New York by the American authorities for money laundering and sanctions-busting.
From then on, gold-oil barter schemes became too closely associated with the shadowy underbellies of global finance and commodity trading. Reza’s fate would give more fodder to the cottage industry of conspiracies about the West, especially America, being hellbent on preventing gold-based commodity trades. The internet today is awash with all manner of theories about how Libya’s Gaddafi was “taken out” for trying to switch from the petrodollar system to a gold-backed dinar-based trading system.
The murkiness notwithstanding, the technical viability of trading oil in gold is not really in doubt. In fact, there are reports of Emirati, Kuwaiti and Omani refineries and oil traders already reaching out to the Ghanaian government to explore the prospect.
The real issue is whether even should a deal be successfully struck with Gulf or Asian traders, any resulting transactions will lead to the attainment of the two goals described above. Here, I am somewhat doubtful.
Some crude modelling should make my case. In 2023, Ghana will consume about 2 million metric tonnes of imported refined gasoline (called “petrol” or “premium motor spirit/PMS” in Ghana).
“Imported” because due to insider fighting and perennial horse-trading, the country has struggled to fix its only sub-scale petroleum complex, the Tema Oil Refinery, despite having collected hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes from the population to do precisely that.
Using an unweighted average of “ex refinery” (essentially, “wholesale”) prices quoted by the 23 main fuel importers in Ghana of $4.62 per gallon or, even safer, the $4.06per gallon FOB pricing quoted by the downstream fuel regulator in the June 2022 import window, one can estimate a petroleum import bill of anywhere between $2.9 billion and $3.3 billion per year. (The latest Platts wholesale pricing for gasoline is now in the $3.74 per gallon range).
The government’s plan, at least the bits of it that have been disclosed, calls for the use of 20% of Ghana’s annual gold production by large-scale miners to offset a part of this dollar bill.
According to industry data, gold production in the large-scale sector is in the range of about 2.8 million ounces per year.
The government prefers to use the World Bank’s Commodities Market Outlook database for its price forecasting. The average gold price in the 2023 horizon of this analysis is about $1700.
Therefore, the government’s plan is to buy roughly 560,000 ounces of gold in Cedis at the average USD spot price over a three-month period (full pricing details have yet to be agreed upon with the gold industry). Meaning the Cedi equivalent of roughly $952 million worth of gold will be provided to the local industry by the Ghanaian Central Bank, and the gold will be turned over for refined gasoline (the most economically sensitive fuel) equivalent to about 30% of Ghana’s current total annual needs. In this analysis, we will ignore that further refining may be necessary to meet bullion standards demanded by the ultimate recipients of the gold.
It is not too clear how the actual trading dynamics will work out. The government has effective control over one of the major downstream retailers (the country has about 235 active retailers) called “Goil”. Goil controls about 24% of market volume. One strategy then would be for the government to borrow the roughly 14 billion Ghana Cedis (GHS) needed for the series of transactions described above from the Bank of Ghana. With those funds in hand, it will buy the 560,000 ounces of gold from the large-scale miners, pay the Emiratis or whichever Gulf refiners/traders they have signed up, land the consignments in Ghana’s ports, and then sell to Goil. The final move on the board would then be to pressure Goil to pass all the savings on to consumers, in the hope that competition would force the other retailers to also reduce prices.
It should be clear by now that the plan above, regardless of precise configuration, is fraught with challenges.
First, the large-scale miners today have major overseas payment obligations that lead them to repatriate roughly 20% of their forex earnings to Ghana. The rest is apparently needed for legitimate forex-denominated business expenses. Forcing them, outside these “retention agreements”, to sell 20% of their output in local currency could mean a corresponding and equivalent gap in their forex needs. If so, then, as many analysts have already suggested, they will seek to convert the Cedis received to US dollars. The first goal of relieving US dollar pressures in the forex markets would thus have been defeated.
Second, assuming no or minimal US dollar pressure abatement, the majority of fuel importers will still have to find USD to import 70%, or very likely more, of the required national fuel need. Given that the majority of importers are barely scraping by (a significant number of licensed importers are unable to trade at all, and more than 75% of the fuel is brought in by the 10 largest traders), it is not clear that the rest of the industry will respond to competitive pressure to lower prices even if Goil significantly drop their own prices due to a favourable wholesale price secured through the barter trading.
Third, and more critically, there is no guarantee that the fuel the government procures through this barter arrangement will actually be cheaper than what it can buy on the international market.
For the fuel bought with gold to be cheaper, two assumptions must hold: a) the local Cedi to gold exchange rate must be lower than the Cedi to dollar exchange rate and b) the Gold to oil price ratio (or “exchange rate”) must be lower than the dollar to oil price ratio. Both factors will depend on skilled negotiation, but in a voluntary contracting situation, such as this one, one wonders whether such a double arbitrage will be possible to achieve.
Surely, all gold producers in the world that are net importers of oil would love to exploit these arbitrages. China is both the world’s largest gold producer and oil importer. Yet, despite repeated promises to scale up its gold-backed Yuan-priced oil futures and settlement products, it never seems to find the heart.
Here is a crude summary of why exploiting the three-way arbitrage among local currency, gold, and oil may be harder than it appears at first glance.
Oil and gold prices do not move in tandem. Gold and dollars are however increasingly more correlated than used to be the case. So much so that gold is increasingly a poor hedge against the dollar.
The intriguing joint effect of both facts is the result that Ghana’s plan may in fact be quite risky.
As financial trendspotter, Tim McMahon, has noted, the gold-to-oil exchange rate is fairly volatile.
More importantly, there are more persistent trends in the record of oil being expensive relative to gold instead of the other way around. It is thus very possible that Ghana may have to find more gold for the same amount of contracted oil during significant stretches of the relationship with the Gulf traders.
Here is some simple illustrative math. Suppose at contract sign-off, 10,000 Cedis buys $1000 dollars which in turn buys one ounce of gold. Suppose this amount of gold can buy 10 barrels of oil. Because the gold to oil price ratio is quite stochastic, it could easily so happen that one ounce of gold suddenly only buys 5 barrels of oil on the international spot market. Knowing this, the Gulf traders will insist on linkages to Platts and Argus (international petroleum price intelligence databases often used as a source of price benchmarks) over short windows in order not to be left carrying the can for too long in such a scenario. (Note that we are not even considering the transaction and carry costs involved in the physical handling of gold versus the electronic transfer of dollars.)
Thus, without any significant movement in the dollar – Cedi rate, a subsequent pricing window might require that Ghana must now find 20,000 Cedis to buy $2000 worth of gold if it wishes to maintain the 10 barrels of oil trading volume. In those circumstances, Goil, the assumed retail-end offtake, would find itself completely on the wrong end of the market since its prices would have to double in order to maintain both the peg and its own margins.
It is true that there are legal technologies that can be used in contracts to manage some of these risks (such as options and cross-options), but the Gulf traders/refiners are not daft. They will not consent to an arrangement that consistently disadvantages them. Any extensive use of options (agreements which grant rights but not obligations to buy certain volumes at certain prices at certain times) would likely be symmetrical or come at a cost. “Strategic flexibility” could be offered by options which allow the government to resort to the supply agreement intermittently. In such a context, however, it would work best if the scheme is designed more as a backstop arrangement rather than as the country’s primary source of volumes.
Furthermore, to the extent that the government is introducing another volatility in the pricing chain (the gold-to-oil exchange rate), standard rules of finance will imply higher risk. It is also a cardinal rule of finance that economic actors demand higher margins for higher risk. (For simplicity’s sake we are even ignoring various integrity and institutional risks inherent in abandoning open market transactions for under-the-table, backroom, and negotiations).
All of this raises speculation about the prospect of the government trying to stiff the large-scale miners by forcing them to peg the dollar spot price of gold to a Cedi exchange rate set by the Bank of Ghana. Whilst this will not deal with the gold–oil volatility problem itself, it will seek to moderate the other source of risk: the Cedi – gold exchange rate. Because, if not, then any depreciation of the Cedi against the dollar will immediately reflect in how much the government buys gold for (i.e. in order to maintain the US dollar spot price peg).
Just like the case where the depreciation of gold against oil leads to inflation in the ultimate Cedi amount paid for the oil, a market rate for local gold purchases based on the open market USD rate (which in turn is linked to the dollar spot price of gold) would always result in general depreciation being passed through the local price of gold, which in turn will affect the volumes of gold the government can buy and the resulting barter-volume of oil or gasoline. In simple terms, an unstable chain of pegs.
There is also a further complication regarding the differential pricing of gasoline in the Gulf versus in North-West Europe which may diverge more steeply from underlying crude oil price trends due to faster-rising gasoline price rises in the Gulf compared to the more highly traded North-West markets where Ghana currently obtains its import-parity benchmarks.
But one needs not to go that far to make the central point of this short essay.
And the central point is simply that a successful arrangement to barter gold for oil will not necessarily lead to less Cedi depreciation against the US dollar nor to lower prices at the pump for consumers. Everything depends on the devil in the detail.
They claimed that after they began growing SARINUT 2, their living conditions had improved since the crop’s high yields enhanced household nutrition and incomes through higher sales and consumption.
During the “Upscaling improved groundnut varieties through integrated seed systems for increasing income and nutrition in dryland of Ghana and Mali (NWO-WOTRO groundnut)” project’s closeout workshop in Tamale, they discussed their experiences.
The closeout workshop, which was to take stock of achievements and challenges and share lessons learned during project implementation, was attended by a cross-section of the implementing partners and stakeholders within the groundnut value chain, including farmers, personnel from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, seed producers, aggregators, processors, and officials from the Ministry of Health.
The NWO-WOTRO Groundnut project was implemented from 2019 to 2022 by a consortium led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) with Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen (KIT), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI), Institute of Rural Economy (IER), Mali, Heritage Seeds, Ghana, and SAPROSA Seed Company, and Mali as members.
The project sought to improve the groundnut seed systems for the upscaling of improved groundnut varieties for enhancing incomes and nutrition of men, women, and youth smallholder farmers in the dryland of Ghana and Mali.
Through the project, SARINUT 2 groundnut variety, (which is a high yielding, early maturing, disease tolerant with bold tan seeds and adapted to Sudan and Guinea Savanna Agroecologies) was demonstrated and promoted among farmers for cultivation.
Chief Bukari Issah, a farmer from Bawku in the Upper East Region, speaking during the workshop, said, “The major variety I am doing now is SARINUT 2. We were growing the old varieties, which was not helping us but when we moved to SARINUT 2, we have seen improvement; if you harvest one acre, you can get almost 24 bags, but other varieties will only give you less than four bags. So, SARINUT 2 is helping us. That is why I am using it.”
He said, “In the olden days, our forefathers started with groundnuts. You know groundnuts look like a beautiful lady; anybody who sees it is happy, but people decided to reject them when we were not getting yields. So, when this SARINUT 2 came to my community, people were harvesting, and they were happy. So, a lot of farmers in the area now go for SARINUT 2. So, as for SARINUT 2, we want all farmers at Bawku to cultivate it so that we can harvest more to feed the nation.”
Mr Mwinipuoba Simon, a farmer from Nadowli-Kaleo District in the Upper West Region, said “I have benefited a lot from SARINUT 2. The yield is high, and I will advise farmers to patronise SARINUT 2. I bought four sheep through it, which have increased to six.”
He said, “I used to farm other varieties, but SARINUT 2 is far better. When I farm one acre using SARINUT 2, I get three times the yield compared to what I get from other varieties. I now cultivate only SARINUT 2, because it is a good seed for farmers.”
Maria Johana Yuorpor, Chief Executive of Mara Foods, a processor of indigenous foods at Nandom in the Upper West Region, said, “I have been processing SARINUT 2 for the past two years and I will say that it is nutritious compared to others. Besides, it gives me a very high product yield and quality. It is tasty and delicious. It comes out very crispy and nice when I process it into peanut butter chips.”
She added that “The women farmers in my area whom I buy my raw groundnut from for processing like to cultivate it too. They say it matures early and it is resistant to diseases.”
Dr. Francis Kusi, Director of CSIR-SARI, described the project as one of the very successful projects implemented by the CSIR-SARI, saying most farmers in the area were cultivating variety.
He praised the project team members including Drs Doris Puozaa, Prince Etwire, Richard Oteng-Frimpong, Mr Abdul Rashid Issa, and the rest of the team members and partners for good job done.
Dr Haile Desmae, Principal Investigator of the project at ICRISAT, Mali, said the project had increased awareness on improved varieties and had reached many farmers through different approaches including demonstration of technologies.
He said now that SARINUT 2 was highly sought by farmers, “We will build on the success and extend the variety to other communities so that we create a big impact.”
Speaking to ghanaweekend.com, the rapper, urged patrons to expect a night of thrilling performances from him and artistes such as Gyakie and Kwesi Arthur.
He also called on corporate organizations to partner with the creative industry in a bid to sell their messages and promote their products.
English Championship outfit, Wigan Athletic, have announced the appointment of Ivory Coast great, Kolo Touré, as their new manager.
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations winner takes over the Manchester-based club on a three-and-a-half-year deal following a spell with Premier League club Leicester City as one of Brendan Rodgers’ assistant coaches.
He replaces Leam Richardson, who was sacked after only seven games in charge.
Wigan Athletic confirmed the 44-year-old’s appointment in a statement on their website on Tuesday in what is his first head coaching role.
“Wigan Athletic Football Club is delighted to confirm the appointment of Kolo Touré as the Club’s new First Team Manager,” the statement said.
“Touré arrives at the Club on a three-and-a-half-year deal from Leicester City, where he was operating as First Team Coach as part of Brendan Rodgers’ coaching staff.
“Also arriving at Latics will be Kevin Betsy and Ashvir Johal, with both joining the backroom coaching staff at the Football Club that includes Rob Kelly – who has agreed to continue in his role as Assistant Manager.”
Wigan are currently third from bottom on the Championship table after 21 games into the 2022/23 season.
The club adds that Kolo Touré will travel to Turkey to join Wigan in their mid-season training camp as they look to turn things around when the season resumes from the World Cup break.
The former defender started his career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas in 1999 and had an illustrious playing career with Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Celtic, as well as 120 caps for his native Ivory Coast.
Touré made more than 500 senior appearances over a 15-year period, with an honours list that includes two Premier League titles – one as an Arsenal ‘Invincible’, two FA Cups, and two Scottish Premiership titles.
He also questioned the issue of fuel cuts of 50% for appointees: “Even this government fuel that has been slashed, how do we want the appointees to work? As for that one, I disagree, so what should they do?
“Some of these things must be tackled realistically. Imagine a Minister with a fuel coupon of 2,000 cedis, now having 1000 cedis but his full tank costs 1,800, so if their car runs out of fuel after three days, what do I do?” he quizzed.
What Ofori-Atta said about V8s and fuel allocations
Under the section of the budget on “Implementation of the Cabinet directives on expenditure measures,” the Minister said:
● All MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs are directed to reduce fuel allocations to Political Appointees and heads of MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs by 50%. This directive applies to all methods of fuel allocation including coupons, electronic cards, chit systems, and fuel depots. Accordingly, 50% of the previous year’s (2022) budget allocation for fuel shall be earmarked for official business pertaining to MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs;
● A ban on the use of V8s/V6s or its equivalent except for cross-country travel. All government vehicles would be registered with GV green number plates from January 2023;
● Limited budgetary allocation for the purchase of vehicles. For the avoidance of doubt, the purchase of new vehicles shall be restricted to locally assembled vehicles;
● Only essential official foreign travel across government including SOEs shall be allowed. No official foreign travel shall be allowed for board members. Accordingly, all government institutions should submit a travel plan for the year 2023 by mid-December of all expected travels to the Chief of Staff.
2021 Africa Cup of Nations champions, Senegal, booked a place in the last 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup following their win over Ecuador on Tuesday, November 29.
A first-half penalty goal from Ismaila Sarr and a Kalidou Koulibaly header ensured that the Teranga Lions overcame their first-game loss to progress to the next stage of the competition.
Senegal started the game on a stronger foot as they needed a win to see them go past the group stage ahead of the South Americans.
Sarr turned up to score the opening goal of the game after stepping up to score from the penalty spot after he had been fouled in the box.
The Watford forward sent the goalkeeper the wrong to give Aliou Cisse’s side a deserved lead in the opening half.
Moises Caicedo drew Ecuador levelled 22 minutes after the recess as he ended up on a Felix Torres cross to beat Edouard Mendy.
But their joy was shortlived as Koulibaly scored three minutes later to restore Senegal’s lead and secure their victory.
The win sees the West African side qualify alongside the Netherlands, who beat Qatar in the other Group A fixture.
The National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, says he will win by a massive margin in the upcoming national chairmanship race to retain his position.
Mr. Ofosu Ampofo said the experience he has gained over the years is unmatched, and assured that he will lead the NDC to power come the 2024 general elections.
“If they have nothing to say, they should throw in the towel and withdraw from the race because I want to assure you that I will win this election and I will win it hands down, and I will lead the NDC to power,” he said.
Mr. Ofoso Ampofo said this over the weekend during an interaction with media personnel in Koforidua, Eastern Region.
He called on the delegates to vote massively for him to lead the party to victory by sending the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) into opposition.
Mr. Ofosu Ampofo pledged to support former President John Dramani Mahama during his campaign in the run-up to the 2024 general elections if he’s either endorsed or elected by NDC delegates.
“I have been loyal to former President Mahama and continue to be loyal to him, and I want to state that, if our delegates endorse him or vote for him, which I know is a possibility and likely scenario. I will give him my 200% support. I will work for him 24 hours to ensure that he wins the next elections and form the next government to bring the policies to rescue this country into reality,” he assured.
Mr. Ofosu Ampofo who is seeking re-election will lock horns with the incumbent General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, a former Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Yaw Adusei, and former Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashitey.
He claims that the Central Bank will take action to ensure that banks maintain their financial stability.
He claimed that this is the Central Bank’s most significant responsibility.
The BoG’s decision comes as the government gets ready to restructure its debt in order to clear the way for an IMF bailout.
Bondholder haircuts will be part of this.
At a press conference, Dr. Ernest Addison stated: “The good news is that we believe there are appropriate buffers.
However, the Central Bank will implement measures to guarantee the banks’ continued viability.
On the subject of Ghana’s galloping inflation, the Governor said, “The inflation forecast shows that inflation will likely peak in the first quarter of 2023 and settle around 25% by the end of 2023. This forecast is conditioned on the continued maintenance of the tight monetary policy stance and the deployment of tools to contain excess liquidity in the economy.”
He noted that there are some risks associated with inflation such as additional pressures from the proposed VAT increase in the exchange rate have to be monitored.
Dr. Addison added that “to continue to anchor inflation expectations, the committee, therefore, decided to increase the policy rate by 250 basis points to 27%.”
In order to do this, he stated that the Ministry of Energy and its agencies would work with the pertinent parties in order to make sure that the nation’s clean and green energy goals were coordinated.
Speaking at the sixth Ghana Energy Awards in Accra, the vice president reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to complete its transformation by 2070, having already established the National Energy Transition Committee and the Ghana Energy Transition Plan.
The country has also initiated several clean projects and initiatives that seek to reduce emissions, including solar plants, and the clean cooking initiative, among others.
However, Dr. Bawumia observed that “having made these commitments, the critical concern for the sector and our country still exists – the continuous exploitation of our hydrocarbon assets.”
He indicated that the government does not plan to abruptly abandon the exploitation of the oil and gas resources as they are critical to the economy.
“Instead, the government intends to gradually wean Ghana off dependence on fossil fuel through the acceleration of the rollout of renewables,” he said.
Government will not abandon plan for exploration of oil and gas resources – Dr Bawumia
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Ghana Energy Awards
This year’s awards ceremony was held under the theme: “Global decarbonisation: A just and equitable energy transition in Ghana.”
The Event Director of the Ghana Energy Awards, Henry Teinor, also speaking at the ceremony, said the country has to deepen the development of its energy sector while making the effort to extend its focus and impact into the rest of the continent.
Among others, he revealed that plans are in place to launch the maiden edition of the West Africa Power and Petroleum Awards (WAPPA) next year.
This is intended to celebrate the achievements of Heads of State and sector ministers in energy development.
“With a major focus on the SDGs, WAPPA will recognize increased energy access projects, clean energy development, and climate leadership initiatives,” he added.
It is expected that it will provide a platform to share ideas to improve on issues of generation capacity, electricity access, and affordable clean energy among others.
The Ghana Energy Awards Scheme has been held since 2017 to recognize excellence and innovation in the country’s energy sector. It is organised by the Energy Media Group, in partnership with GP Business Consulting with the support of the Ministry of Energy, World Energy Council Ghana.
Awardees
In all, some 33 institutions and personalities were recognised.
The coveted male Energy Personality of the Year went to the Chief Executive of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, while the Executive Partner of Arthur Energy Advisors, Harriette Amissah-Arthur, was awarded the female Energy Personality of the Year.
Others are CEO of the Year (Power), which went to the Chief Executive, Bui Power Authority, Samuel Dzamesi, and CEO of the Year (Petroleum), Managing Director, Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company, Edwin Provencal.
Meanwhile, the Energy Commission was adjudged the Energy Institution of the Year, Ghana Grid Company won Energy Company of the Year (Power), and PETROSOL was named the Energy Company of the Year (Petroleum), with Energy Company of the Year (Renewable) going to Bui Power Authority.
Other winners include: Rising Star Award, Dr. Riverson Oppong – Manager, Commercial Operations at Ghana National Gas Company; Innovation Project of the Year, Meinergy Technology; Emerging Energy Company of the Year, Done By Us; Energy Think Tank of the Year, Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana; Brand of the Year, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission and; Corporate Social Responsibility of the Year, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.
The rest are: Health and Safety Excellence Award, Ghana National Gas Company; Excellence in Power Generation, Volta River Authority; Clean Energy Initiative of the Year, Sunon Asogli Power; Off-grid Energy Solution of the Year, Wilkins Engineering; Visionary Leadership Award: Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, Chief Executive, VRA; Eco-Innovation Business Award, Bui Power Authority; Outstanding Energy Management Award, Prof. Kwaku Appiah-Adu – National Coordinator, Energy Sector Recovery Programme; Novel Deployment of Renewable Energy Technology Award, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Institute of Industrial Research (CSIR-IIR); Sustainable Energy Partnership of the Year, Sustainable Energy Technologies Limited and; Energy Reporter of the Year, Rebekah Adwoa Awuah of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
The Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, was also presented with a special recognition award for his exceptional commitment to Africa’s energy transition.
In order to strengthen the country’s position in terms of foreign exchange reserves and combat currency depreciation—the cedi has lost more than 50% of its value this year—Vice President Dr. Bahamudu Bawumia suggested that the government consider a gold for oil barter policy, in which gold would be used to purchase oil products rather than the nation’s US dollar reserves.
But according to Nana Amoasi VII of the Institute for Energy Security and Benjamin Boakye of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), the declaration is strange, premature, and has the potential to encourage corruption (IES).
“We can always stress-test policy before announcements. Gold for oil is weird,” says Mr. Boakye. “The common denominator is the dollar. Total gold export was US$4.8billion, just about how much we needed to import refined products.”
Mr. Boakye, who is ACEP’s Executive Director, questioned how the government can raise enough dollars to buy all the gold produced in Ghana, or how it can buy all the gold produced in cedis.
He asked: “So, how much oil are we hoping to import with this announcement? Is it crude or refined products? Do we have a company dealing in both commodities to give us the discount? What happened to those scouts who went for cheap fuel in Abu Dhabi?
“No commodity is stronger than the dollar today. A bet on the future doesn’t resolve current challenges. By the way, how much gold has BoG purchased so far since the big announcement on gold reserve assets?”
Nana Amoasi VII, meanwhile, questioned how the government would buy gold to the tune of US$380million, which is the amount the country spends importing finished petroleum products every month.
“Our monthly import bill for finished petroleum products is roughly US$380million. Can government get gold to the tune of US$380million every month for exchange of finished products?” he queried.
He also lamented that barter is not a transparent arrangement and could breed corruption.
He said similar arrangements – including Iran’s ‘oil for food programme’ in the 1990s, Nigeria’s recent ‘crude oil for finished products’ programme – all became avenues for corruption.
He further stated that government is either short of ideas or is deliberately attempting to rob the citizenry.
Nana Amoasi VII also added that a more sensible move would be to find a strategic private partner to revamp and expand the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), the country’s only refinery. TOR, which has yet to refine crude in the last eight months, needs a capital injection of about US$500million.
Just like Mr. Boakye, Nana Amoasi VII also wondered what had happened to the government team that went in search for reliable and affordable fuel for Ghanaians.
Background
Dr. Bawumia, in a Facebook post on November 24, 2022, said the government is negotiating a new policy regime where gold (rather than our US dollar reserves) will be used to buy oil products.
He said demand for foreign exchange by oil importers in the face of dwindling foreign exchange reserves results in the depreciation of the cedi and increases in the cost of living with higher prices for fuel, transportation, utilities, among others; hence, the barter of sustainably mined gold for oil is one of the most important economic policy changes in Ghana since independence.
“The barter of gold for oil represents a major structural change. My thanks to the Ministers for Lands and Natural Resources, Energy, and Finance, Precious Minerals Marketing Company, the Ghana Chamber of Mines and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana for their supportive work on this new policy,” he said.
The new framework is expected to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
“If we implement it as envisioned, it will fundamentally change our balance of payments and significantly reduce the persistent depreciation of our currency with its associated increases in fuel, electricity, water, transport and food prices. This is because the exchange rate (spot or forward) will no longer directly enter the formula for the determination of fuel or utility prices since all the domestic sellers of fuel will no longer need foreign exchange to import oil products.”
The Mad-Time Entertainment frontman sent the crowd at the Suhum Odwira Festival 2022 into a frenzy last Saturday with electrifying performances that saw him deliver back-to-back hits of his masterfully.
Kwaw Kese made an appearance onstage at the Suhum Odwira Festival 2022 over the weekend (November 26) to bless the town’s special night with his infectious swagger and an electrifying medley of hits.
Showing up in an all-black outfit and some contrasting white shades, the seasoned rapper strutted across the set, playfully singing along with the overjoyed crowd, who did not miss out on the opportunity to yell out Kwaw’s timeless lyrics whenever he pointed the mic their way.
Together, the two shook the open-air venue with chants that transitioned from performed songs like ‘Dondo’, ‘Makwan’, ‘Swedru Agona’, ‘The World’ and of course, all-time fan favorite – 2017’s ‘Let Me Do My Thing’ featuring Black Prophet. Also present were two other rappers: ‘Pae Mu Ka’ wordsmith, Obrafour and female Ghanaian rapper, Eno Barony, both of whom were a joy to behold to the roaring crowd.
2022 has been a rather calm year for the five-time Vodafone Ghana Music Awards winner music-wise since registering an assist from SarkCess Music boss, Sarkodie for his vibrant street anthem ‘Win’ somewhere in June.
According to him, some people are in police custody facing criminal charges for the resale of tickets in the FIFA World Cup.
“The Police and the various agencies are always at the stadiums monitoring things, we have toiled to get you tickets, we don’t want any of you to go out and sell the tickets we have given you,” Ussif said during a meeting with the supporters at their base Doha, Almadaen Complex.
He revealed that Ghana Mission to Qatar has received evidence of people facing court action, though he did not state categorically if they are Ghanaians.
“So far, the authorities have arrested some people and taken them to court, they have sent the evidence to the Ambassador, we don’t want anybody to fall into this.
“We are appealing to you not to get yourselves involved in acts like that. We will work to make sure you all get tickets to the stadium, but once you have it, protect it; don’t lose it for someone to pick it up to go and sell,” he advised.
Rumours emerged last week Thursday that police arrested some football fans for selling match tickets between $200 and $300.
A new digital platform called “YaraConnect” has been introduced by Yara Ghana with the goal of building smallholder farmer ecosystem retailer loyalty.
The mobile application is anticipated to offer retailers value-added services so they can provide farmers with better services while also fostering strong client relationships.
He said, YaraConnect, therefore seeks to provide a strongly connected input channel from Yara to farm, driving sustainable growth and contributing to thriving smallholder farm communities.
He revealed the new digital platform can also be accessed in India, Indonesia, Kenya, Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam, and seeks to serve retailers through three (3) core functions: sales loyalty creation, value loyalty creation and retail-farmer connectivity.
The Sales Loyalty Creation rewards loyal retailers of Yara products. As products are being purchased on regular basis and sales are unarguably increased, Yara retailers accrue points, which can be redeemed for discount coupons and other customized rewards for themselves. All that is needed is to scan the QR code found on products or purchase receipts to earn these points.
The Retailer-Farmer Connectivity: this categorizes two main services such as the Farm X and Marketplace. The integration provides distributors the ability to involve in Business-2-Business sections while showcasing their products online and gaining farmers to patronize them by making ‘product bookings’ This, however, introduces the expansion of the businesses of retailers to farmer buyers on Yara Connect.
He noted that Yara Connect is not limited to Yara retailers only, but other farmers who may have access to the app. To which, Non-retailers of Yara Ghana who may use the app directly need to connect with a retailer for Yara and buy products from to enjoy the benefits.
For his part, the Head of Digital innovations at Yara Ghana, Mr. Kwame Okyere demonstrated how the app can be effectively used; outlining the various features and their functions.
He urged the media to spread the word about the app, as it has been designed specially to contribute to the development of the agricultural sector, as well as the efficiency of farmers in the country.
Play Soccer Ghana has commemorated this year’s Global Peace Games at Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana.
The Global Peace Games were founded in 2001 by Play Soccer Non-Profit International in order to promote a global network of children and youth committed to a culture of friendship, understanding, and peace.
The Games are a worldwide initiative and have thus been organized across the world since 2001.
Every year since 2001, Play Soccer Ghana has been commemorating the day in Ghana, where program beneficiaries converge to take part in various outdoor games and football matches and make pledges to be ambassadors of peace and also to unite their voices and support through the universal language of sport.
The 2022 Global Peace Games celebration was organized with the global theme, “End racism, build peace.”
In all, about 150 young people, aged 5–15, were drawn from the Tuutingili site and SOS.
The event started with a peace walk from Tuutingili community school park for about 500 metres along the main street and ended at the Tuutingili Centre park where the event took place.
The coordinator of Play Soccer Ghana, Samuel Okyere Southern, mentioned that peace was something that ought to be carried everywhere. He said learning to tolerate the opinions and views of others was critical to ensuring peaceful coexistence.
As it is done every year, one of the beneficiaries of the project read the 2022 UN peace message signed by UN Secretary General António Guterres.
Interacting with the participants, the Programs Manager for Play Soccer Ghana, Anthony Asante Addo, mentioned that all must endeavor to inculcate attitudes of peace so that they will always be known among their peers as people who always propagate peace wherever they are.
He stated: “Peace is life; therefore, we must always choose peace.”
“We must always level the playing field, reduce inequalities, and always make peace with our friends.”
The participants pledged their support to promote peace and be ambassadors of peace among their peers.
Games that were played during the event were soccer, lime and spoon, sack racing, blindfolding, and others. Also in attendance were Katherine Marwari (head of school for Tamale SoS), the various site managers and volunteers across the project sites, and some parents of the program beneficiaries.
The Southern Ghana Coordinator, Samuel Okyere, commended all participants for their active participation, sportsmanship, and exhibiting fair play in all the games held.
“Peace is the only pathway guiding us to a better future for humanity, and when we understand each other and live in harmony and cohesion, it will be the basis to ensure the well-being of every individual.” He stated.
Play Soccer Ghana is a sport for a development organisation that uses sports and football as key tools for sustainable development.
It has been in existence since 2001, with its current headquarters in Cape Coast, in the Central Region.
Play Soccer Ghana as an NGO is Implementing various projects on promoting quality education, life skills development, TVET training, promoting peaceful communities, sanitation and hygiene.
The country director is Franklyn Asuo. Other members of the Play Soccer Ghana Board of Directors include Dr Jimmy Heymann, Ellis Quarshie, Georgina Quaisie, Andrew Simpson, and Ama Gyamfua Abrefa.
It has been in existence since 2001, with its current headquarters in Cape Coast, in the Central Region.
Play Soccer Ghana as an NGO is Implementing various projects on promoting quality education, life skills development, TVET training, promoting peaceful communities, sanitation and hygiene.
The country director is Franklyn Asuo. Other members of the Play Soccer Ghana Board of Directors include Dr Jimmy Heymann, Ellis Quarshie, Georgina Quaisie, Andrew Simpson, and Ama Gyamfua Abrefa.
The Netherlands on Tuesday afternoon progressed to the knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup after beating Qatar 2-0 to top Group A.
The Europeans secured the win thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
Meanwhile, Senegal have also become the first African country to qualify for the knockout stage of this year’s mundial.
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) champions on Tuesday afternoon locked horns with Ecuador in the final Group A contest of the tournament.
In need of a win to advance to the Round of 16, Senegal played above their strengths and deservedly picked the much-needed victory.
Before the first half break today, the African champions had already taken the lead thanks to a penalty kick expertly converted by youngster Ismaïla Sarr.
After the break, Ecuador came in strong and equalised through midfielder Moisés Caicedo in the 67th minute.
Unfortunately, they could not hold on after scoring. Shortly, after scoring that important goal, the team conceded from a corner kick and trailed again.
This time around it was defender Kalidou Koulibaly who scored for Senegal to give the African giants a 2-1 win at the end of the game.
Courtesy of the result, Senegal qualifies for the Round 16 stage with six points.
The government has declared its intention to tax electronic smoking devices beginning next year.
Delivering the 2023 budget on the floor of parliament, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said, “excise tax reform will include a revision to the taxation of cigarettes and tobacco products to align with ECOWAS protocols.”
“The reform will also target increase in the excise rate for spirits above that of beers. There will be taxation of products such as electronic smoking devices and liquids which are not currently taxed,” Ofori-Atta added.
Meanwhile, the government has announced some measures to reduce public expenditure in 2023.
Among other things, the government has banned public officials from using V8s/V6s for cross-country travel
Ken Ofori-Atta also announced a hiring freeze for civil and public servants and non-critical projects suspended.
He, thus, called for the support of the general public stating that “this is the time to rebuild, not to destroy and tear down. Let us work together for our collective benefit.
She said the Canadian government was already partnering with the government of Ghana to modernise the sector in the area of rehabilitation, retooling and infrastructure upgrading of all five colleges of agriculture in the country.
She said all five colleges would also benefit from a revised curriculum that would support market-oriented, gender sensitive and environmentally sustainable teaching and learning.
She said the projects in all five colleges of agriculture was part of the Modernising Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) programme implemented by the Technical Education Development for Modernized Agriculture in Ghana (TEDMAG) and valued at 15million Canadian dollars.
The project was funded by Global Affairs Canada with support from the University of Missouri, USA and the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Mad. Paris said the ultimate outcome of the project was to improve the capacity of agriculture agents in Ghana to provide market-oriented, gender- sensitive and environmentally sustainable services to farmers.
It also aims at equipping students at the various agriculture colleges with practical agri-business, farm management, commodity value chain management skills and environmentally friendly strategies.
” Through the MAG programme, Canada is directly providing CAD $125 million to the government of Ghana to help modernise the agriculture sector which has significant potential for reducing poverty and inequality in Ghana this funding will be channeled through government systems with district and regional departments of agriculture as well as the national directorate of MOFA, the CSIR and the Agriculture Colleges all receiving funds to implement their approved activities and to deliver on their respective mandates”. Paris stated.
She said as part of the MAG programme and other initiatives, the two countries had over the past five years been working together to advance gender equality.
“Women in Ghana are demonstrating greater empowerment – they have higher levels of financial autonomy allowing them to purchase some land, mould some blocks and put up their own buildings- to purchase rudimentary agro-processing machines, to expand their agro-processing activities and to pay school fees for their children ” she said.
Mad. Paris said her country would like these benefits extended to the girls in the agriculture colleges through the design and implementation of courses that are attractive to and accessible to women as well as flexible policies to increase girl’s enrollment in these colleges.
She said each milestone like the handing over of the refurbished facilities moves Ghana and Canada closer to “our shared goals- through our partnership, we will continue to make progress towards poverty reduction, zero hunger, gender equality and growth that works for everyone”. She concluded.
Mr. Lawoete Tettey, director of human resource and development at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) lauded the initiative saying it was a game changer as far as agriculture programming and development in the country was concerned.
He said the Ministry was looking forward to upgrading the level of education and exposure students would gain from the new infrastructure and curriculum with the hope that it would improve their learning outcomes.
“We are looking forward to them having new experience that is relevant to facilitate market-oriented agriculture in the country so that they don’t only come out with classroom knowledge but go into practical agriculture as well which will inure to the benefit of the entire country,” he said.
Mr Ernest Abiew, principal of Ohawu Agriculture College expressed gratitude to TEDMAG, the Canadian High Commission, MOFA and other partners for the gesture and promised to make maximum use of the facility to improve teaching and learning outcomes.
He said the college had several challenges including inadequate classroom blocks and hostel facilities especially for female students and a dilapidated place of convenience (toilet), acute water shortage and appealed for further support to address these challenges which he said was hampering smooth academic work in the college.
Barefooted, wearing all white gear with a black belt. This is not quite how you expect to see a Foreign Minister dressed overseas.
But that was how Alfred Mutua, Kenya’s top diplomat was captured when he visited the Taekwondo Headquarters in South Korea.
Mutua was in Soeul together with President William Ruto, over the weekend, as the two nations aim at deepening diplomatic and cultural ties.
He posted a video in which the all-dressed up Taekwondo minister is seen fending off jabs and kicks from an opponent while he also attacks intermittently.
He captioned the video: “CULTURAL DIPLOMACY with a bit of TAE KWONDO. As part of our visit to Seoul Korea, my counterpart, Foreign Minister Dr. Park Jim, organized for me to visit the World Headquarters of Tae Kwondo (Kikkuwon) where Grandmaster Lee made me an honorary 6th Dan Black Belt.”
“In my late teens & early 20’s I practiced Tae Kwondo before picking up Temple Kungfu. I need to get back to the sport. I’m getting rusty.
“As they say, like father like son, I am proud of the fact that my 1st born son, 2 weeks ago, qualified as a black belt holder in Tae Kwondo,” Mutua wrote in a tweet accompanied by photos.
Prices for gasoline goods are anticipated to drop between 10% and 8% starting on December 1st, 2022, for consumers of petroleum products.
According to the Institute of Energy Security’s forecast, the cost of gasoline and diesel products will decline for the second straight time.
The IES stated in a statement that despite the anticipated drop, the depreciation of the local currency versus the major trading currencies will keep Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices steady.
“Prices of the various finished products will be affected by the 13.45% fall in the price of gasoline [petrol], the 11.63% fall in the price of gasoil [diesel], and the 1.88% fall in the price of LPG,” it explained.
“However, the 3.09% depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar is expected to erode portions of the gains from the reductions in international fuel prices. The price of LPG is however expected to remain stable on account of the cedi’s depreciation,” the IES added.
Since the start of this year, consumers of petroleum products have been experiencing a steady increase in the price of petroleum products at the various pumps.
This has then resulted in high cost of living, inflationary pressures and rampant increment in transportation costs for commuters.
The Black Stars of Ghana set new records after their 3-2 win over South Korea at the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Monday, November 29, 2022.
It was the first of many for the Black Stars, as two goals from Mohammed Kudus and Mohammed Salisu were enough to overcome Cho Gue-Sung’s two goals for South Korea.
Although the win does not certainly give the Black Stars a surety of qualification, however, it has given them an upper hand going into their final group match against Uruguay.
Here are the records set by Ghana after win over South Korea at the World Cup
First win for a Ghanaian coach
Ghana’s 3-2 win over South Korea was the first win for not only a Ghanaian coach at the World Cup but also Coach Otto Addo’s first-ever win at the tournament.
Although Kwesi Appiah was the first Ghanaian coach to be at the World Cup, he never won a game at the 2014 World Cup. Four of Ghana’s previous wins were under Ratomir Djokovic and Milovan Rajevac.
First goal scored by a Ghanaian defender
Mohammed Salisu’s goal against South Korea made him the first Ghanaian defender to score a goal at the World Cup. Ghana’s previous goals at the World Cup were scored by midfielders and strikers. Salisu scored the opener for Ghana with a header against South Korea.
First time Ghana scored 3 goals
The match against South Korea was also the first time Ghana had ever scored three goals in a match at the World Cup. Prior to this game, the highest goal scored in a match was two; however, the Black Stars were able to break the jinx and scored their first three goals in a match. Senegal, Morocco, and Ghana have now scored three goals in their second round of matches at the tournament.
First 2 goals scored by a Ghanaian
Kudus’ brace in the match also made him the first Ghanaian player to score two goals in a match at the World Cup. He also became the youngest African player after Ahmed Musa of Nigeria to net a brace in a match at the Mundial.
First player to score 2 goals against Ghana
Cho Gue-Sung also broke the record of being the first player to score two goals against Ghana at the World Cup. Never in the history of the World Cup has any player scored two goals against Ghana. Not even the great Ronaldo of Brazil or Portugal or Andre Pirlo was able to do that. However, the Korean player scored two headers against Ghana to become the first to score a brace against Ghana.
Record for most passes for a goal
Kudus first goal against South Korea was the result of a long streak of passes leading to a goal for Ghana at the World Cup. Up to 31 unintercepted passes led to Kudus’ first goal in the game. Andre Ayew’s goal against the USA in 2014 held the previous record of 14 passes leading to a goal for Ghana.
7 goals in 7 matches for Ghana
Since June 26, 2010, Ghana has scored a goal in each of its matches at the World Cup. The last time Ghana failed to score a goal at the World Cup was in a match against Germany. Ghana has so far scored 10 goals in 7 of their last 8 matches at the World Cup. This is the longest goal streak for the Black Stars at the Mundial.
While Ghanaians were in a jubilant mood on social media, they were joined by some European clubs who were proud of the performance of their respective players in the victory against South Korea.
The Black Stars took a giant step toward knockout phase qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after shattering the dreams of the Koreans at the Education City Stadium on Monday, November 28.
A goal from Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus‘ brace condemned South Korea to a 3-2 defeat after a brace of consolation goals from Gue-Sung Cho.
Portugal’s 2-0 victory over Uruguay at the Lusail Iconic Stadium have now tilted the odds in favour of Ghana to pick the second spot in Group H ahead of the matchday three games on Friday, December 2, 2022.
Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey, Salis Abdul Abdul, Mohammed Salisu, Inaki Williams, and others were at the center of Ghana’s victory, and their clubs acknowledged their performance on social media.
Here are some of the reactions from Ajax, Arsenal, Southampton, and others to Ghana’s victory below:
On Oman FM’s Boiling Point program (November 24), he stressed that it was crucial to give appointees the assistance they need to do their duties.
Adorye claimed, using a text message, that deputy ministers were only receiving GH 250 in fuel allowance, which he thought was a pitiful sum considering the types of engagements that ministers took on.
“On the fuel issue, I have a text message that shows that deputy Ministers get GH¢250 cedis worth of fuel every week. GH¢250 cedis only, how much is one litre, for a minister to be given 250 cedis for a week? That comes up to GH¢1000 cedis for a whole month.
“If they arrive late at an event too, they have issues. 250 cedis of fuel is among some of the factors that breed corruption in this country,” he lamented.
What Ofori-Atta said about V8s and fuel allocations
Mr. Speaker, as the first step toward expenditure rationalisation, the Government has approved the following directives which take effect from January, 2023:
● All MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs are directed to reduce fuel allocations to Political Appointees and heads of MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs by 50%. This directive applies to all methods of fuel allocation including coupons, electronic cards, chit systems, and fuel depots. Accordingly, 50% of the previous year’s (2022) budget allocation for fuel shall be earmarked for official business pertaining to MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs;
● A ban on the use of V8s/V6s or its equivalent except for cross-country travel. All government vehicles would be registered with GV green number plates from January 2023;
● Limited budgetary allocation for the purchase of vehicles. For the avoidance of doubt, the purchase of new vehicles shall be restricted to locally assembled vehicles;
● Only essential official foreign travel across government including SOEs shall be allowed. No official foreign travel shall be allowed for board members. Accordingly, all government institutions should submit a travel plan for the year 2023 by mid-December of all expected travels to the Chief of Staff;
Nigerian artiste Mr Eazi has shared a series of videos on his social media handles cheering the Black Stars of Ghana when the team played against their South Korean counterparts in Qatar at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The artiste, who was present at the stadium and in several interviews called Ghana his ‘other home aside from Nigeria’ was captured screaming and shouting whenever the Black Stars team scored a goal.
Following the victory of the Black Stars, he celebrated and teased a few Koreans who were close to him.
While celebrating Ghana’s win, the artiste spotted Ghanaian celebrities, Okyeame Quophi and Nana Ama McBrown, who were shocked to see him at the stadium.
With so much joy captured on their faces, they couldn’t help but share hugs and talk briefly about Ghana’s win.
After saying his ‘Hellos’, the ‘Patek’ artiste took heartwarming images with some Ghanaian fans at the stadium.
Mr Eazi joins the tall list of celebrities who travelled to Qatar to support the Black Stars.
It was a win for Ghana on November 28, 2022, when Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus scored the goals for the country.
Black Stars endured early pressure from South Korea who earned five corners in the opening 15 minutes but ultimately played their way into the match by disrupting play with a counter and earning a free kick.
WHAT HAPPENED? The Inter Milan goalkeeper was left out of Cameroon’s team for their second group game, against Serbia on Monday as Devis Epassy stepped in to start. After the 3-3 draw with Serbia, coach Rigobert Song insisted the shot-stopper has to “respect the rules and maybe come back into the squad”.
The La Masia graduate has now given his side of the story, highlighting there have been differences between him and others in the team.
WHAT ONANA SAID: “I want to express my affection for my country and the national team,” wrote Onana in a statement. “Yesterday [Monday] I was not allowed to be on the ground to help Cameroon, as I always do, to achieve the team’s goals. I always behaved in a way to lead the team to success in a good manner.
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“I have put all my efforts and energy into finding solutions to a situation that a footballer often experiences, but there has been no will on the other side. Some moments are difficult to assimilate. However, I always respect and support the decisions of the people in charge of pursuing the success of the national team and country.
“I extend all my strength to my teammates because we demonstrated that we are capable of going very far in this competition. The values that I promote as a person and as a player are the ones that identify me, and that my family has given me since my childhood. Representing Cameroon has always been a privilege. The nation first and forever.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Previously, discord in the Cameroon camp at World Cups emanated from unpaid appearance fees and match bonuses. Such incidences had been attributed to the team’s struggles at the global quadrennial football tournament. It is yet to be seen if the Onana saga will have an impact in their last game against Brazil on Saturday.
STORY IN TWO PHOTOS:
GettyGettyWHAT NEXT FOR ONANA? Reports on Tuesday suggested that Onana was set to leave the Cameroon camp in Qatar. According to those reports, he will not be available for their final group game on Friday.
Bishop Daniel Obinim has made another epic appearance on social media, and this time around, it is to celebrate the Black Stars’ win against South Korea in the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Social media has since been buzzing with intense excitement following the Black Stars’ 3:2 win against their South Korean counterparts.
Ghanaians have resorted to various means of jubilation, especially after a fierce battle with the Koreans.
However, the founder of International Godsway Chapel, who also joined in the celebration, has shared a video of himself captured in full glee.
Obinimwas heard saying in a viral video that appeared to be recorded immediately after the match,
“What a ball! What a ball! Ball ball ball! Heyy Ghana Black Stars! …Afa metrim” which translates to “It is driving me insane.”
His reaction has sparked all sorts of interesting and hilarious comments from individuals on social media.
However, it has been reported that Bishop Daniel Obinim has for some time now been inactive on social media after sacking all 72 of his pastors and asking them to go search for better jobs.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0985 and a selling price of 13.1117. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.40 and sold at a rate of 14.85.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.7677 and a selling price of 15.7848 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 15.8230 and a selling price of 15.8415.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 16.80 and sold at a rate of 17.40.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.6163 and a selling price of 13.6299 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.6241 and a selling price of 13.6377.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7643 and a selling price of 0.7651 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 0.7642 and a selling price of 0.7649.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.8487 and a selling price of 33.9730 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 33.8156 and a selling price of 33.9201.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has revealed that the country’s home-based carrier, GhanaAirlines, will commence operations in 2023.
While presenting the 2023 budget on November 24, 2022, Mr Ofori-Atta stated that after selecting a strategic partner for the home- based carrier, the government has engaged with the requisite shareholder to smoothly execute the task.
“Mr. Speaker, Shareholders and Partnership Agreements were signed with the selected strategic partner for the home-based carrier, which will be known as GhanaAirlines. The airline is expected to be operationalised in 2023,” he added.
Earlier this year, a report by the country’s regulatory agency for air transportation, Aviation Ghana, indicated that the government would choose its preferred partner out of four airlines.
Ashanti Airlines, JNH Group, Ethiopian Airlines, and EgyptAir were the four major proposals being considered.
However, according to reports, Ashanti Airlines has been chosen as the government’s preferred partner for its new domestic carrier.
The Ashanti Airlines is owned by business moguls, Osei Kwame Despite and his partner, Dr. Ernest Ofori-Sarpong.
Currently, the airline has an Air Carrier Licence (ACL) and is working to secure the acquisition of its air operator certificate (AOC), which enables an operator
to conduct specialised commercial air transport operations.
Ghana has not had a national airline operating international flights since the closure of Ghana Airways in 2004 and Ghana International Airlines in 2010.
Efforts to re-establish a national carrier faced a hurdle despite the signing of many Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with Ethiopian Airlines and EgyptAir.
As a result, the previous Aviation Ministry, which is now administered by the Ministry of Transport, established a new committee to review all proposals.
GhanaAirlines then GhanaAirways is the national carrier of the Republic of Ghana. The airline has its primary hub at
Kotoka International Airport, in Accra.
It was established in 1958 by the government of Ghana.
Neymar has been ruled out of Brazil’s final World Cup group match against Cameroon, while Alex Sandro has joined the superstar forward and Danilo on the injury list.
Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar hobbled off in the 80th minute of Brazil’s 2-0 win over Serbia last week with a lateral ligament injury to his right ankle.
The 30-year-old sat out Monday’s victory over Switzerland, in which Casemiro scored a late winner, but no official timeframe was given for his recovery.
However, team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar confirmed on Tuesday that Neymar will play no part against Cameroon, with Brazil requiring a point to guarantee top spot in Group G.
Team-mate Danilo, who has a similar ankle problem to Neymar, will also not recover in time for Friday’s match at Lusail Stadium, while Alex Sandro is suffering from a hip injury.
“After yesterday’s game, Alex Sandro felt pain in his left hip and was unable to continue in the game,” Lasmar said.
“This morning he was reassessed. We took him for an MRI test, which showed a muscle injury in the left hip muscle. The player will not be able to participate in the next match.
“But he is still undergoing treatment so that we can recover him as soon as possible.
“Danilo and Neymar are still recovering from ankle injuries. Each with a different treatment because they are different injuries.”
Neymar was fouled nine times by Serbia players, which is one shy of Brazil’s World Cup record of 10 set against Switzerland in 2018.
He was fouled a leading 44 times across the 2014 and 2018 World Cups combined – once every 21 minutes, more often than any other player impeded on at least 25 occasions.
With their victory over Switzerland, Brazil became the first side in World Cup history to go unbeaten in 17 consecutive group-stage matches in a run stretching back to 1998.
In a post shared on Instagram by blogger itellmymind, the television personality appeared at the National Theatre in a dress that seemed not to fit her body type.
While eyes were gazing at her, she appeared unfazed by the wardrobe malfunction that drew attention to her breast.
Mona got out of her car, flashed smiles at the crowd and walked majestically into the event grounds with her breast shaking uncontrollably in her attire.
She completed her look by wearing a pair of silver heels with little or no makeup on her face, bouncy curly hair extension and jewellery on her neck and hands.
This wouldn’t be the first time the TV host has drawn attention to herself for her outfit choice.
In 2021, netizens descended on her for wearing a sparky above-the-knee gold dress and a pair of sneakers to a formal event hosted by MTN.
“Again, under the Mills-NDC administration, and I was the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, unemployment was controlled by efficient real sector measures.
After reaching 10.4% in 2000, the overall unemployment rate saw a downward trend, falling to 5.3% by the end of 2010 and then to 2.2% by the end of 2013.
But following 2013, there was a substantial uptick in the overall unemployment rate, which rose to 6.8% by the end of 2015.
“It is therefore clear that the stellar performance of real GDP growth in 2009–2012 was a significant factor that led to a lower unemployment level and which further led to job creation during the 2009–2012 period,” he said.
Read the full story originally published on November 29, 2021 by GhanaWeb
Ghana’s current high rate of unemployment started rising after the Mills’ administration, and during the reign of his predecessor, John Dramani Mahama, a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, has stated.
According to him, while the John Evans Atta Mills administration was able to significantly reduce the rate of unemployment in the country between 2009 and 2012, his predecessor’s reign contributed to worse figures for employment, reports 3news.com.
“Again, through effective real sector policies, unemployment was tamed under the Mills NDC Administration and I was the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning. The total unemployment rate which stood at 10.4% in the year 2000 witnessed a declining trend to 5.3% by the end of 2010 and further declined to 2.2% by the end of 2013. However, after 2013, total unemployment rate saw another upward swing, increasing sharply to 6.8% by the end of 2015.
“It is therefore clear that the stellar performance of real GDP growth in 2009–2012 was a significant factor that led to lower unemployment level and which further led to job creation during 2009–2012 period,” he said.
He also spoke about the high rates of inflation in the country.
“High and rising inflation increases the cost of living at a fast pace, thereby eroding people’s real incomes and savings. By fueling wage pressures and raising the cost of other production inputs, it also increases the cost of doing business. Furthermore, rising inflation forces up interest and lending rates, since savers—whose surplus funds are lent to borrowers—naturally demand a higher reward for deferring consumption to the future. Higher lending rates then lead to the cancellation of otherwise viable investments, with negative effects on economic growth and employment generation.
“Historically, Ghana has experienced these effects of inflation in their most destructive forms, as the country’s post-independence economic history is marked by many episodes of runaway inflation, including prolonged periods of hyperinflation in the 1970s and 80s.
“Because Ghana relies heavily on imports to meet its consumption needs, a rapidly depreciating exchange rate is a major source of inflation. In addition, given the country’s rapid build-up of foreign debt, which accounts for about half of total public debt, a sharply weakening exchange rate significantly increases the size of the foreign debt and the cost of servicing it in domestic currency terms. In fact, research conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that exchange rate depreciation is a significant driver of Ghana’s public debt dynamics, as it accounted for almost 30% of the growth of public debt between 2006 and 2019,” he added.
He made these known in a public lecture in Accra on Monday, November 29, 2021.
As the 2022 World Cup approaches a crucial stage for Ghana, residents have been guaranteed a steady supply of electricity.
During a working visit to the firm by a delegation from the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) led by the Executive Secretary, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, on Monday, November 21, 2022, Ing. Ebenezer Essienyi, Chief Executive of the Ghana Grid Company GRIDCo, made this known.
The engagement with the Utility Regulator, which was welcomed by the Chief Executive and Management Staff of GRIDCo, provides a chance for the two parties to connect on matters of shared interest, such as:
1. Keeping channels of communication open between the Regulator and Utility provider.
2. Tariff Issues.
3. Formal notification of notice of visit of African Electricity Regulators who will visit GRIDCo in 2023.
The Executive Secretary, Dr. Ackah commended GRIDCo for its proactivity at guaranteeing power supply so there is no disruption during the World Cup. The PURC boss also lauded the investments made by the company to ensure Grid stability. He encouraged GRIDCo Management and Staff to strive to operate efficiently.
The PURC delegation later paid a visit to GRIDCo’s Systems Control Centre to get a first-hand view of the dispatch of electricity and ensuring regular supply of power. Ing. Stephen Debrah, Manager Dispatch and Ing. Linda Baah Manager, Market Operations guided the PURC on the tour providing answers and clarity to issues raised.
The PURC Delegation included Dr. Eric Obutey – Director of Research and Corporate Affairs, Ing. Rasheed Baisie – Head Regulatory Audit, Robert Aziz – Deputy Head Stakeholder Management and Maame Esi Eshun – Head, Executive Secretary’s Secretariat.
Ghanaian socialite Hagar Brobbey has donated sanitary pads to female students of Odumase MA Primary School at Amasaman; a suburban area of the Greater-Accra Region.
She partnered ‘Heidi Health Foundation’ to carry out the donation on her birthday and also inform the students about menstrual hygiene and the appropriate practices during menstruation.
According to the TikTok celebrity, the initiative was necessitated by the rising cost of sanitary pads in Ghana, and her desire to give back to the community in the best practical way she could. She stated this in an online interview.
Hagar Brobbey explained that the donation was a personal thing she wanted to do.
“As part of my birthday celebration, I thought it wise to give back to the community. And, the best way I thought I could as a lady, was to give out sanitary pads; especially looking at the cost now. And, this is something I’m going to be doing from time to time,” she said.
Hagar joins the list of female celebrity activists pushing for better standards of living for women in Ghana.
John Asiedu Nketia, the general secretary of the NDC, said: “I am not saying perpetually electronic transactions should not be charged in the future…but presently, in such difficult times, it is a mark of insensitivity to apply this tax.
NDC’s Johnson Asiedu Nketia says the introduction of the electronic levy (E-Levy) on mobile money (MoMo) and other digital transactions by the government in the 2022 budget is absolutely “needless”; for now.
He said the recent hardship on Ghanaians with the E-levy introduction will worsen the situation after the government failed to fulfill its heaven-on-earth promises.
To him, perhaps in the future when the economy is stable, the E-levy can be reintroduced.
“E-levy is not needed now, that is my argument. I am not saying perpetually electronic transactions should not be taxed in future….but currently, in such challenging times, it is a mark of insensitivity to impose this tax,” NDC’s General Secretary, John Asiedu Nketia said in an interview with NEAT FM.
E-Levy To Widen Tax Net
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, last week, announced that the government intends to introduce an electronic transaction levy (e-levy) in the 2022 budget.
He said this was to “widen the tax net and rope in the informal sector”.
Reservations About E-Levy
But several Ghanaians have expressed concern over the proposal.
They said the introduction of the levy in the 2022 Budget would compound the high cost of living in the country.
E-Levy Details
The proposed levy, which will come into effect on 1 February 2022, is a charge of 1.75% of the value of electronic transactions.
It covers mobile money payments, bank transfers, merchant payments, and inward remittances. The originator of the transactions will bear the charge except for inward remittances, which will be borne by the recipient. There is an exemption for transactions up to GH¢100 ($16) per day.
According to the finance minister, the total digital transactions for 2020 were estimated to be over GH¢500 billion (about $81 billion) compared to GH¢78 billion ($12.5 billion) in 2016. The huge growth in just five years.
Difficult Times Currently
However, the move has been criticized by many people, with some saying levies were taking all their earnings and making the cost of living very high.
The NDC, together with some opposition parties, appear to be in that bracket.
African Legends Night has unveiled its first-ever Music Legends Hall of Fame list to celebrate African music legends as part of celebrations to mark 10 years of African Legends Night.
The Legends Hall of Fame is an annual induction list of all legendary musicians who have performed at African Legends Night. Over the ten-year period, African Legends Night has witnessed 20 headliners from a number of African countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, DR. Congo, Namibia, South Africa among others.
The Hall of Fame is also to recognize music legends who have consistently excelled in their endeavor of work over a long period.
Commenting on the initiative, Ernest Boateng, CEO of Global Media Alliance said “We recognize the immense contribution of musicians in projecting the face of the African continent positively. Our inductees are musicians who have had an impact on our society hence the Hall of Fame is to celebrate their achievements and major milestones in the course of their music careers.”
In no particular order, below are the musicians who made the first-ever Legends Hall of Fame lists:
The African Legends Night is a premium pan-African concert which recognizes and celebrates living African music legends.
African Legends Night this year is sponsored by HD Plus, Ghana Gas, Ghana Tourism Authority, Beyond the Return, Perception Management International and Silverbird Cinemas with media partners – MX24, eTv, Citi FM, YFM, B&FT, Happy FM, Daily Guide, Ghanaweb, AmeyawDebrah, NYDJ Live, Oman FM and Net2 TV.
