In his view, regardless of the geographic locations, there should be uniform taxes on commodities transferred from European countries to African countries, rather than distinct ones.
Annoh-Dompreh, the Member of Parliament for Nsawam/Adoagyiri, stated this during a meeting with European Union officials on Friday at a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh also spoke on the Continental Free Trade Agreement, urging Africans to do their homework on the rules of engagement in order to get it validated, especially on Customs Tariff, which is becoming essential in terms of destination, which has an impact on trade.
During the meeting, the European Union also promised to help Africa harness its raw material reserves in the Energy Transition Revolution.
The EU also promised to support the Pan-African Parliament’s Committees. The next review engagement, as gathered, will be in December 2022.
Hon. Annoh-Dompreh met with the delegations once more to discuss Sub-Regional Security, Cooperation, Energy Transition, and Investments, among other topics.
According to him, some policy decision taken by Dr Ernest Addison has had dire consequences on the local economy.
He cited high inflation, depreciation of the cedi, increase in transport fares, goods and services, and price hikes in petroleum products, among others as some factors crippling the local economy.
âHow can Dr. Addison still be the Governor of the Central Bank? I call on Dr. Addison as a matter of urgency to exit that office and give Ghana the chance to clear the mess that he has createdâŠDr Addison must be sacked. Otherwise, he must have the conscience to resign as the Governor of the Central Bank,â Isaac Adongo stated.
Addressing journalists in parliament on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo said, “we will evoke the exercise of the oversight responsibilities of parliament on BoG to deal with the governor for failing to manage Ghanaâs monetary space.”
Ghana’s inflation, as of September 2022 stands at 37.2 per cent.
Prior to the announcement of the September 2022 inflation, the Bank of Ghana adjusted upwards the policy rate to 24.5% to fight inflation.
According to the data, food inflation for the month of September was 37.8% with non-food inflation at 36.8%.
The cedi on the other hand is buying at GHÂą13.0114 and selling at GHÂą13.0244 against the US dollar.
According to him, the incorporation of ESG in Ghanaâs banking sector is aimed at ensuring sustainable confidence and professionalism is enforced within the industry.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 26th National Banking Conference in Accra on November 8, 2022, Robert Dzato said there are various benefits and opportunities for banks operating in the country, should they adopt ESG strategies.
âOur role as CIB Ghana is to ensure banks and banking professionals are well educated in ESG. So far, we are holding training programme with collaboration from International Finance Corporation but most importantly, we are putting ethics and professionalism on the agenda because ESG is about sustainability,â Robert Dzato said.
Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks, John Awuah said he is optimistic that banks operating in the country will fully incorporate EGS strategies into their daily activities and operations.
âAs we speak, every single bank has physically signed onto the principle and we are working with the Bank of Ghana to ensure the implementation is not just on paper but ESG is embedded into the daily activities and operations of banks,â the GAB CEO disclosed.
In May 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission also signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation to help develop green bonds in Ghana.
Meanwhile, the 26th National Banking Conference is themed; âThe future of banking in Ghana: Ethics Professionalism and ESG Imperativeâ
The conference was attended by a host of banking professionals to deliberate on how banks can survive and thrive in the current disruptive challenges facing the banking sector and national economy.
Some speakers at the conference emphasized the importance of enforcing ethics, professionalism and sustainability toward the growth of Ghanaâs financial sector.
DKBâs video captured Sarkodieâs lyrics, âIf today I am sleeping with lights in my house and my children can go to school for free, forgive me, but Nana, continue (Toaso).â
The aforementioned lines formed part of Sarkodie’s lyrics for the ‘Happy Day’ song which featured Kuami Eugene. The song was described by some persons as an endorsement of Nana Akufo-Addobecause of the ‘Nana Toaso’ phrase which the ruling party and Nana Addo used for their campaign.
According to DKB, after composing this song, Sarkodie has been mute over Akufo-Addoâs poor governance. The comedian mentioned that the rapper would have composed over 200 songs for the former President, John Dramani Mahama he were still president of the country.
âIf this be John Mahama time like he drops 200singles, 4 mixtapes, 7 EPs, 10 LPs and 56 remixes on the economic mess we Dey face. Na joke ooo,â he mocked.
During John Mahama’s time as president, Sarkodie released ‘Inflation’, ‘Masses’ and ‘Dumsor’ which touched on the economic situation and energy crisis. The musician is yet to release a song addressing same although the economic crisis continue to worsen.
In some social media reactions, netizens have indicated that DKB was being honest in his statement while noting that Sarkodie was a hypocrite.
âTrue talk Yaaro. Every passing day, I get convinced he probably was paid to be churning out those songs. He’s probably been paid to shush now; who knows?â a user said.
Another added, âHe’s the greatest hypocrite of this generationâ while a third said, âYou are right.â
Meanwhile, calls for Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to be sacked or resign following the economic crisis continue unabated. Some have also suggested that President Akufo-Addo should resign for failing to deliver.
Fuel prices continue to increase astronomically. A litre which sold at GHÂą6 in January now sells at GHÂą17.99 while the cedi has returned to its depreciation trajectory. It now sells at GHÂą14.20 instead of GHÂą6 early this year.
Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante has joined the call for the government to cut down his ministers in order to lessen the financial burden on Ghanaians.
According to him, if cutting down the number of his appointees would stabilize the economy to some extent, then the government needs to consider the call.
One of the concerns section of Ghanaians have raised is the size of the government which they are urging the president to reduce.
The moderator also cautioned Ghanaians, particularly politicians how they address the economic issues in the media space.
“Tarnishing the economic image of the country for your political gains will only drive away investors,” he added.
Speaking at the Centenary Thanksgiving Service of the Asante Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi, Rt Rev Mante said he was worried about how some politicians politicizes situations knowing well it is a global challenge.
âItâs so heartbreaking to watch or listen to people say negative things on the airwaves about Ghana and this will scare away potential investor , this has come to confirm that â sika mp3 dedeâ, he added
Touching briefly on how the illegal mining activities in the country has polluted water bodies and destroyed farmlands , Rt Rev Mante described it as a form of terrorism and called for such offenders to be treated as a terrorist group.
âHow can you destroy water bodies which have been quenching the thirst of Ghanaians, ” he quizzed
He suggested those big men behind the finding if the activities must be arrested and sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others.
The Kumasi Jubilee Park was packed with Presbyterians as Districts under the Asante Presbytery gathered to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the first Presbytery in Ashanti Region.
As and when the Presbytery grows, new Presbyteries are carved from it to lessen the burden on the church.
The Presbytery after 100 years has nurtured some other Presbyteries, which include Asante Akyem, Brong Ahafo, Sekyere, Asante South and Sefwi Presbyteries.
He said the impact of the Asante Presbytery could be seen been seen in areas such as education (basic, second cycle and tertiary), health service delivery, hospitality services, support to the needy, Christian education, sound spiritual development healing and deliverance ministries, cultural transformation, inter-faith relations and mission to the palace.
Recall that Davido’s 3-year-old son drowned on Monday, October 31 in the care of domestic staff while the musician and his girlfriend Chioma were in Ibadan.
The child was taken to Evercare Hospital in Lekki where doctors immediately pronounced him dead.
Since the news broke celebrities, politicians, socialites, and public figures have offered their condolences to the family.
Davido has removed all pinned posts as well as the flyer promoting his anticipated festival, A.W.A.Y, which is scheduled to take place on November 18, 2022, at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
It was meant to feature artists like Kizz Daniel, Wande Coal, Lojay, Pheelz, Oxlade, BNXN (also known as Buju), Focalistc, and Victony.
Accraâs annual celebration of brewing excellence has announced its artist lineup for this yearâs edition.
In a bid to promote Highlife music and its artistry, the music spotlight for this yearâs festival will feature an authentic live music experience from some of the finest international touring bands from Ghana.
The festival organisers have announced the headline acts as the Highlife icons, Bessa Simons & The Bessa Band and Pat Thomas & his Kwashibu Area Band, with more bands to be announced in the course of the month.
The festival, being in its 5th year, promises to be a thrilling experience, projecting Ghanaâs unique urban experiences to the rest of the world through the power of live music enjoyed with good company and Ghanaâs smoothest beer brands.
The one-day event comes off on Farmers Day Holiday, Friday, 2nd December 2022 at the Trade Fair Centre Accra (Park 3) from 11 am to 11 pm.
Rastafari brothers and sisters have been urged to take charge of their intellectual property as Rastafari images and other intellectual property is commercialized without any benefit to the Rastafari nation.
The call was made by Ras Cashawn Myers aka Binghi Shawn, Executive Director of Habesha Inc, an organization that builds schools for Africans at home and abroad.
âWe have to take ownership of our Intellectual Property. Millions have been made off the image, name, and likeness of Rastafari,â Binghi Shawn said in his keynote address on the theme âConnecting Africa Through Intra-African Trade And Production.â
He was speaking at the 4th Rastafari Continental Council Summit and 5th All Africa Rastafari Gathering at Liati Wote in the Volta Region which took place from November 1 to 4. Habesha runs the Kweku Andoh Sustainability Institute (KASI) which was the venue of the summit and trade expo.
The keynote speaker called on Rastafari to harness the potential of our natural environment by using solar energy to provide electricity for our facilities among others. He also charged the participants at the summit to grow their own food since we have the means to do so in Africa. He also informed the gathering about initiatives being made to bring about âital certificationâ as a way of protecting Rastafariâs Intellectual Property and also ensuring standards in our productions.
The four-day trade expo and the biannual summit were attended by Rastafari from across Africa. The trade expo is to encourage intra-African trade. It is also intended to empower Rastafari economically.
The chairman of the Rastafari Continental Council, Ahuma Bosco Ocansey encouraged the participants to work on replicating the KASI model of development in their various countries.
He noted, âThe vision of the Rastafari Continental Council (RCC) is to build a sustainable institution to further unite, mobilize and empower Rastafari on the continent towards progressive development in Africa; while providing an integrated platform for national, regional, and continental dialogue and efforts for the upliftment of Rastafari at home and abroad.â
The RCC chairman referred to a quotation from Emperor Haile Selassie I that âunity is strength and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals, to strive, with all our combined strength, for the path to true African brotherhood and unity,â calling on the participants to work assiduously toward African Unity through such platforms. Various speakers at the summit applauded the efforts of the RCC to foster African Unity through such interactions.
Participants at the summit were taken on a hiking experience on the Afadzato mountain and also a visit to the Tagbo Falls, as part of the sightseeing tradition of the expo and biannual summit.
The event was attended by delegates and participants from Benin, Nigeria, Guinea, Cote Dâvoire, Mali, Ghana, Guadalop, and the U.K and it climaxed with a Coronation Celebration at the Arts Centre in Accra on Saturday, November 5.
The show featured the Rastafari Council, Ghana Nyabinghi Orchestra, Michael Asher from New York, Radikal Ra from the U.K, Fiifi Selah of TH 4 Kwages and Sass Squad fame, Osagyefo, Kojo Kombolo, Aly Baba from Guinea and many others.
MCs for the night were Harry Joe, former Vibe FM and Y FM presenter Black Santino and former Groove FM and Joy FM presenter, Culture B.
Dancehall musician, Shatta Wale, has stormed social media with explanations in relation to his absence at the Hogbetsotso Beach Rave in Tegbi, Volta region.
Earlier, it was reported that Shatta who was billed to perform as headline artiste failed to show up on stage although he arrived in town for the event.
âIt is interesting to note that Shatta Wale had shown up at the venue of the concert in vehicles rented for him and his team by the organizers yet could not be found afterwards. All efforts by the two management teams to get him to come to the concert grounds to perform to the waiting crowd proved futile,â parts of the statement from the organizers read.
It was said to be a chaotic scene as disappointed fans who were gathered at the venue attacked some organizers by pelting stones at them and destroying their gadgets.
After days of silence, Shatta has taken to social media to state reasons for his absence on stage.
Stating his own side of the story, the Dancehall artiste expressed that he was disrespected by the organizers.
Buttressing his point, Shatta asserted that he was driven directly to a radio station to grant an interview when he already had an agreement with organizers that he would not participate in such an arrangement or even greet any chief.
He added that one of the organizers threatened to withhold his accommodation if he fails to grant the interview and that was when he took off.
âIbe show wey them contract me for. We no dey go greet greet people. Ago taya before the show starts sef. I know how people dey love me and I know Iâd have to get into the crowd. Everybody go dey talk to you and your voice all go strain. I wanted to keep the energy for my lovely people of volta. As I ask them whether ino be this thing I tell them before coming, I hear sey one of the organizers say if I no go come the radio station, then them no go take me go my hotel room. So you expect me to carry all the luggage I came with to the radio station?â he expressed in Pidgin English during an Instagram live.
A disappointed Shatta however asked if a foreign artiste could be treated in such an unfair manner.
âMassa, make I carry all my luggage come the radio station den come do radio interview? As yourself whether thatâs how they treat foreign artistes. Do they take them to radio stations immediately they land at the airport? Even some international artistes come with their live bands, do they carry all that to the radio station? When Usher came to Ghana did he carry all his luggage and band to radio stations for interview?
Jessica Opare Saforo has listed reasons partners feel some kind of entitlement to their spouse’s money.
She talks about ways men can say ‘no’ nicely when their women always ask for money.
Politely refusing a situation isnât easy and establishing boundaries is even tougher if you have to deny a request made by loved ones.
Here are three ways Jessica claims men can politely say no to her:
Rule number one – make it your rule
One of the easiest ways to say, no, is by creating a rule for yourself that your policy from here on out is that you don’t lend money to certain kinds of people. You determine which kinds of people they will be.
Your girlfriend, regular friends, family, you name it. It’s a quick and easy way to handle a situation without leaving yourself feeling guilty.
It’s easier to tell everyone, no, than to give to some people than to others. Moreover, by communicating this to your loved ones they will understand that it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with you them or their character but they are just something you don’t do.
Respond promptly
Having difficult conversations like refusing to give someone money is tough, It’s never fun. Many of us take up our sweet time trying to find the courage to say, no, in the first place. As hard as it may be, say no to begin with.
You don’t make things easier by waiting. Now one of the things you can do in these situations is to respond promptly to the inquirer. You come off politer in the situation and be considerate enough to answer the request in a timely manner.
That being said at least you can give yourself maybe 24 hours to think over the requests so that you don’t come across as you know not having thought about it at all.
Be clear to the point and be polite
Beating around the bush only serves to confuse both parties involved and can lead you to giving when your intention was actually to say no. be firm, be polite and concise. Don’t give her any room to argue about it in the first place.
Simply say that you are unable to give her this time and that it’s not feasible for you or that you are simply uncomfortable doing so right now. Don’t give out a long drawn-out explanation or ramble on. Simply state your answer and move on.
Again you will get your point across and save yourself and the other party from any confusion. Don’t be afraid to say no when people ask you for money. I mean you don’t have to feel guilty. It’s your money and you worked hard for it. You don’t owe anybody any allegiances.
Brigadier General [Rtd] Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, a former Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, has spoken about how he was prevented from seeing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to discuss issues relating to the economy.
According to him, he approached his good friend Kwame Pianim, who then called one Gabby and told him that the former CDS would like to have a word with the president.
He said, that Gabby on the phone told him that the president was attending a UN Assembly in New York and when he comes, he will facilitate a meeting with the president.
Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah told Adakabri Frimpong Manso on Neat FM that, one week later, he [Pianim] called to ask if he had been called to meet the president but he answered in the negative, which situation angered.
He narrated: “I have been a soldier all my life. So, if I am the one experiencing these challenges on the battlefield, I would move to the front to observe exactly what is happening and address the soldiers and tell them that that is not how to position yourself on the battlefieldâŠ
“I know President Akufo-Addo more than any other politician, I was his campaign manager in 1998. You said you won’t call me so I decided to reach out to him myself but he says he doesn’t have the time, what should I do again?
“In September last year, I went to his office with one of the retired soldiers â a former CDS, he is almost 90 years old â with our experience we said where the country is heading, we are going to hit some rough patches because as an elder, sometimes you see things that ordinary minds donât see; you see things with experience instead of the eyes, for experience is the best teacher. . . I went with a friend and approached Kwame Pianim â who is a good friend â I told him that I want to go and see the president and he called one Gabby and told him that I want to see the president but he said he [president] is in New York [for UN General Assembly] so, when he comes, he will call me to go and meet him. One week later, he [Mpiani] asked if I have been called and I said nobody has called me, and then he got angry.”
Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah continued: “Later Kan Dapaah called me and said âGeneral, the president said, I, the Security Advisor, and the National Security Coordinator should come and meet youâ. I told him that âKan, I am not the only one that wants to meet the president, there is this elder friend of mine who also wants to see the president so, let me go and talk to him and I will get back to youâ.
“The former CDS when I discussed with him said, âGeneral, forget about them. . .We saw this thing coming . . . and up till now, we did not get access to the president to talk to him. I was really sad because we were not going to beg the president for anything . . .
âI was going to tell the president that look Iâm not an economist but we are too dependent on the dollar to buy virtually everything; weâve spoilt the cedi so, at least let us mitigate the situation by doing things to help ourselves… letâs mobilise the nation and feed ourselves and reduce the pressure on the cedi. . . I was going to offer myself without pay. . .â
Dairy import data from the Ghana National Association of Cattle Farmers (GNACAF) indicate that the country imports in excess of US$400million dairy products annually, as demand for fresh milk and other dairy products rise.
Despite this increasing demand, the local dairy industry is stagnating; thereby creating a deficit that can only be offset by importation.
Whereas special breeds have been grown and nurtured in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and the west to give a maximum 30 litres and minimum 15 litres of fresh milk per cow each day, the situation is different in Ghana according to the GNACAF.
The president of GNACAF, Imam Hanafi Sonde, confirmed to B&FT that just about eight out of every 100 milk-cows in Ghana are able to give 3 litres of fresh milk per day; a phenomenon that he said demands more investment into domestic production to lessen the countryâs reliance on foreign dairy imports.
The need to focus on milk
âThe reason for low milk production is due to focus on meat, though the quest for fresh milk is rising incessantly. To increase milk output, the country must put emphasis on special breeds through insemination; and the introduction of technology for milk extraction,â Imam Sonde said.
An estimated US$90million worth of dairy products were imported in 2017, according to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture; but the amount, Mr. Imam Sonde said, has reached a staggering US$400million in just four years, by 2021.
New Zealand, Brazil, Belgium and regional neighbours â key among them being Nigeria, remain the countryâs top trading partners for dairy products. But the GNACAF said other countries are venturing in, since Ghana is experiencing an increase in dairy product consumption as diets continue to change, coupled with a growing population that is more urbanised.
Historically, limited access to cold storage and transportation has limited Ghana to the consumption of ultra-high-temperature pasteurised products.
Although these products have a long shelf-life, improved infrastructure is causing a push for fresher dairy and a bigger local dairy industry.
In 2018, MoFA released a statement that the country would start to import cattle from the United States to help build the domestic dairy industry. The imported cattle were supposed to be special milk breeds for insemination and to grow the local industry here.
But Imam Sonde said the animals are yet to be imported since the announcement was made, adding: âMaximum attention has not been given to the industry, as the sector continue to face biting challengesâ.
In Ghana, cattle farmers rely heavily on natural grazing â which is not ideal for milk production, especially in the dry season when there are no pastures. The Association maintains that special improved imported breeds for insemination are the solution to increase production and close the escalating import gap.
On the national level, the Amrahia Dairy Farm â which is designed as capacity building centre for local cattle farmers to boost dairy production for industrialisation â is defunct.
But the GNACAF said it is currently scouting for investors to collaborate on insemination for special breeds which can increase milk output and enable local farmers to concentrate on milk production. The value chain includes breeders, shepherds, traders, transporters, butchers, veterinary products and the hospitality industry, among several others.
The report was released at the end of last month, October 2022, and indicated that domestic food prices have gone up by 122 percent since January this year.
Indeed, the countryâs inflation has been rising to an all-time high of 37.8 percent for September 2022 â driven largely by food prices, according to data from the Ghana Statistical Service.
With many Ghanaians feeling the heat and cost of food prices running out of control, the situation is being exacerbated as the year-on-year inflation rate for September 2022 from the 16 administrative regions was almost 38 percent.
This means general price levels have soared in September 2022, higher than September 2021 as month-on-month inflation between August 2022 and September 2022 was 2 percent, according to the Ghana Statistical Service.
Correspondingly, panelists in the agribusiness sector during the 11th Ghana Economic Forum (GEF) cautioned Ghanaians to brace for more hikes in cost of food over the coming months.
The discussions were on the topic âEnsuring food sustainability and security: an analytical overview of the PFJ and implications for economic growthâ.
Also, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has projected in its Finance and Development Journal that food import bills for some 62 vulnerable countries will hit more than US$25 billion this year, putting 1.7 billion people at risk of going hungry in the future.
A chunk of these 62 countries, according to the FAO, are African countries south of the Sahara.
The FAO said rising cost of fertiliser on the global market will negatively affect availability of rice and other staple foodstuffs for the entire 2023, and probably beyond.
The organisation observed that rice production and availability will slump to their lowest from 2023 due to increase in the cost of fertiliser, as prices of the cereal are starting to rise.
âThese developments pose risks because rice is a key staple around the world, including sub-Saharan Africa,â the FAO indicated.
Thirty-nine new free zones companies licenced to operate within the last year and a half are expected to inject some US$230million into the economy, says Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA), Ambassador Michael Oquaye Jnr.
âSince I took over as CEO, some 39 new companies have been licenced and they are expected to inject an estimated capital of US$230million into the economy. In addition, the estimated export earnings from the 39 companies is US$529million from an estimated production value of US$436million. I am also happy to report that the cumulative exports from the Free Zones enterprise since the programmeâs inception stood at US$27billion as of 2020,â he said.
Amb. Oquaye Jnr. was speaking at the launch of 2022 Investment Week, a week-long celebration that seeks to shine more light on activities of the authority, the concept of special economic zones, and drive further investment into the economy.
He noted that as the country is currently grappling with a balance of trade deficit and depreciation of the currency, it is imperative that Ghana increases its exports to earn needed foreign exchange to stabilise the cedi; and thus the importance of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) championing an export-led strategy cannot be overemphasised.
âExport-led industrial growth is one of the most appropriate strategies to achieve economic development; this has been the mandate of the GFZA. Thus, the Free Zones programmeâs importance in reversing our balance of trade deficit and depreciating cedi is vital.â
Free Zones not for only foreigners
Amb. Oquaye Jnr. stressed that Ghanaian companies also have the potential to take advantage of free zones incentives and make a mark in the international market. Currently, the total number of active companies is 217.
Out of the 217 active companies 72 are wholly Ghanaian-owned companies, representing 33percent; 74 are wholly foreign-owned companies, representing 34 percent; and 71 are joint ventures, representing 33 percent.
âI am giving this breakdown because the Free Zones programme has been misconstrued as mainly favouring foreign investors. On the contrary, the programme is open to all investors, both foreign and local. Moreover, with the opportunities that AfCFTA also offers, we are encouraging Ghanaian-owned businesses to take advantage of the 1.3 billion African market to expand their activities. The impact of these achievements on the economy cannot be overemphasised.â
New SEZs in the offing
With regard to the development of designated SEZs, the authority, he says, has signed a memorandum of understanding with a private developer for developing about 1,500 acres of land designated at Yabiw/Shama in the Western Region.
The proposed investment, according to him, is estimated at US$250million to US$300million. It is expected to provide world-class infrastructure such as roads, electricity with a dedicated power plant, sewage treatment plant, container depot, office complex and residential complex, among others. In addition, the project when completed will lead to thousands of jobs and increased foreign exchange earnings for Ghana.
Regarding the designated processing zone in the Ashanti Region, commonly associated with the Boankra Port or the Greater Kumasi industrial project, compensations for the land and economic activities have been finalised.
AfCFTA/GFZA partnership
Amb. Oquaye noted that the GFZA recognises the AfCFTAâs potential in attracting market-seeking investments and encouraging local businesses to export to the African market.
âIn pursuing an export-led industrial growth strategy and given the enormous opportunities AfCFTA and the world at large provide, the problems of unemployment, low export earnings, lack of value addition to our natural resources, lack of diversification of our export products, and being an insignificant player in the continental and global value chains can be solved.
âTo achieve this objective, the GFZA has set up an AfCFTA desk. The Authority is collaborating with the AfCFTA National Coordination Office (NCO) to develop a GFZA/AfCFTA strategy to integrate AfCFTA into our activities. If there are any lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, it taught us that deploying technology is the way to go. Thus, most of the authorityâs approvals have been migrated online under the ICUMS single window.â
Achievements, CSR
Water challenges that used to bedevil the Tema EPZ have now through collaboration with the Ghana Water Company improved drastically, with supply increasing from 30 percent to 75 percent at present. Currently, water storage capacity at the enclave has also been improved.
In addition, the authority is in talks with the Ghana Gas Company to supply gas directly to the Tema EPZ as an alternative energy source for the companies. âI am pleased to tell you that these talks have concluded positively and are awaiting implementation. This will again contribute to a âzero carbon footprintâ as previously espoused.â
Regarding security, the authority procured two motorcycles for the Kpone Police Command to enhance patrol of the enclave and to enhance security. The authority identified breast cancer as a serious issue affecting women. As a result, it instituted a breast cancer awareness project during the Breast Cancer Awareness Month of October. The next addition will be prostate cancer, which is prevalent among men.
âAs an additional service, we have recently introduced the concept of âAftercareâ to provide value-added services to existing free zone enterprises within our mandate to make their investment in Ghana worthwhile. I have already embarked on regional tours to visit some free zone companies with the team, to understand their issues and assist in resolving them.â
The celebration
This yearâs celebration is under the theme âGFZA: Championing Export-Led Industrial Growth in the Context of AfCFTA and World Tradeâ. The theme, he says, was chosen to reflect governmentâs focus on export-led industrialisation and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreementâs (AfCFTA) implementation.
The week-long celebration runs from December 5-9, 2022. The celebration will see the GFZA engaging the media and business community through roadshows, one-on-one interactions, interviews, organised enclave/SEZ visits and many more.
The celebration will climax with a CEOsâ networking session to be attended by senior government officials, ministers of state, CEOs and captains of industry at the Marriott Hotel on December 7, 2022.
The 3rd Annual Ghana Free Zones Investment Week meeting will discuss a pathway for supporting exporters to optimise exports within Africa and beyond.
Ghana is presently experiencing serious fiscal problems, with inflation reaching 41% and food, goods, and services prices fluctuating.
As a result, some members of parliament from both the majority and minority parties have called on President Akufo-Addo to fire Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta for failing to manage the country’s economy.
Some Ghanaians have embarked on protests against the NPP government in response to the country’s current hardships.
However, lawyer Amoh Dartey thinks that the country’s current recession is an imported one.
Speaking on MYABC TVâs âBÉkyerÉ Muâ Show, Lawyer Amoh Dartey stated that, âmost of Ghanaâs economic crisis is imported because we have built our economy in such a way that, we always depend on importation.â
âIf we want clothes, we import from Turkey, Toothpick we import from China, we have shoes in Kumasi but we import from Turkey. Everything in Ghana is imported either from Asia, Europe or America. Even tomatoes we import with billions of dollars. So when the pandemic erupted, the global supply chain shut down and this has affected the nation.”
According to him, the country will continue to experience an economic crisis if it continues to depend on imported goods.
In the space of two weeks or less, some businesses in Ghana have folded up. Some of these businesses have shut down permanently, whiles others have closed down some of their branches.
Most of which are food businesses lamented the increasing cost of ingredients. They are Soul by Villa Grace, Fatty, The Yellow Box, 12inchbaguette, and coppasotto.
One of the five businesses, Soul by Villa Grace explained to customers that: ââSoulâ was designed to offer comforting and good quality food, at affordable prices. That has been the fundamental basis on which we operated and curated our menus. With the current global and domestic economic crisis, the cost of ingredients is far beyond our imagination. Current food prices, unfortunately no longer make sense for us to sell based on the business model under which we operate.â
âWe believe that things will indeed get better, and we will find the stability required to be able to offer you the quality of food Soul was established to curate, once again,â it said.
Another catering business, Fatty has closed its retail space to the general public even though it noted that it will still provide catering services to its patrons.
Meanwhile, Yellow Box, also a food business has closed down two of its branches and is only operating at a single branch.
Reacting to these closures, customers have expressed their utmost disappointment with the outcome of the events.
They also bemoaned the rising cost of living in the country posing a threat to Ghanaian businesses.
The Member of Parliament (MP)for Akim Swedru in the Eastern Region, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, is calling on government and the private sector to expand investment in mechanisation services for farmers if the country can become selfâsufficient in rice production.
He indicated that the only way to ensure Ghana rice becomes widely available to all Ghanaians is to ensure mechanisation tools are available to smallholder farmers who donât have the capital to afford.
“For Ghana to be able to meet its annual rice consumption we need to cultivate about 300,000 hectares that will be equivalent to (1,500,000 metric tons of paddy rice) of rice farms to be to meet our annual consumption of 1.2 million metric tons. We just need 300 commercial farmers that can do 1,000 hectares annually,” Hon Kennedy Osei Nyarko exclusively told Accra-based Original FM 91.9.
“We donât need 300,000 smallholder farmers to produce to meet our demands. We can deliberately give all the support these 300 large-scale farmers will need and we will never import rice into the country again. All thatâs needed is support from the government to these farmers,” he added
âRice is not like any other crop⊠Rice needs very even land that has been well prepared where the lumps are all broken down, and it is relatively flat. And thatâs why rice is special and requires quite a bit of mechanisation, and it also needs water,â he said.
âYou need the tractors, threshers, and irrigation facilities. Itâs very easy to buy a tractor. But what takes time is putting in place irrigation infrastructure and preparing the land so you can plant on it. He observed that land development for rice is expensive, and irrigation is expensive,â He observed.
According to him, the private sector can develop mechanisation equipment like combine harvesters, tractors, and tillers. But the government needs to pay attention to irrigation infrastructure. And there are issues with land development that government needs to take the lead on. Then the private sector can help with the milling, storage, and marketing.â
Governmentâs ineffective agricultural policies in the area of irrigation are impacting negatively on smallholder farmers â leading to high levels of poverty among them, Executive Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Dr. Charles Nyaaba, has said.
Dr. Nyaaba noted that governmentâs initiatives aimed at addressing food security in an environmentally friendly manner through the Planting for Food and Jobs and One Village, One Dam programmes have not helped to reduce the vulnerability of Ghanaian smallholder farmers to the vagaries of climate change.
âThe One Village One Dam programme â aimed at providing all year-round water for farmers especially in the Northern parts of the country â has become a fiasco as the dams are unusable in dry seasons.
âThe Pwalugu multi-purpose dam has also not received the needed funding, leading to the project being stalled 35 months after sod-cutting. This approach to agricultural investment has impacted negatively on the environment, agroforestry and reduced agricultural contribution to GDP, which led to high level of poverty among smallholder farmers in the country,â he stated.
Dr. Nyaaba was speaking during the National Caravan on Climate Change March for Climate Action ahead of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP27) scheduled from November 6-18, 2022 in Egypt.
The National Caravan
The National Caravan is meant to draw government and other actorsâ attention to the effects of climate change on food security and the overall economic stability of Ghana.
And in Ghana the average temperature increase per decade stands at 0.21°C â and this is expected to rise within the range of 1.7°C to about 2.04°C by 2030, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body responsible for advancing knowledge on human-induced climate change, has stated.
The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), further added that rainfall declined over the past four decades in all the agro-ecological zones in Ghana, and sea-level is also expected to rise from 5.8 cm in 2020 to 16.5 cm by 2050. âSince climate change directly influences temperature and precipitation trends as well as extreme events such as drought and flooding, the agriculture sector is unambiguously the most vulnerable sector,â Dr. Nyaaba stated, as the sector mostly depends on rainfall.
He said despite the Paris Agreement on climate change in which goal 13 emphasise the need to take urgent action to combat climate change, and governmentâs own Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), government has not demonstrated much commitment toward achieving this goal.
The proposals
As Ghana joins the world at COP 27 in Egypt, and given the impact of climate change on food security worldwide, PFAG through its Executive Director has made proposals for immediate action by government.
Dr. Nyaaba called on government to as a matter of urgency implement the revised Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (No. 925 of 2016) to regulate the use of lands for agriculture, domestic and industrial activities.
He also called for an immediate ban on the activities of all illegal mining in the country to safeguard lands, forestry and the environment.
With less than 2 percent of the countryâs agricultural lands using irrigation, Dr. Nyaaba further urged government to revisit the One Village, One Dam initiative and also seek alternative funding arrangements for construction of the Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam â including the option for Public Private Partnership arrangements.
âGovernment should commit budget allocation for rigorous mitigation and adaptation measures to be adopted to avert further effects of climate change on smallholder farmers, especially women and young people in the country. We also call on government to protect (through a legislative and/or regulatory framework) and support (through innovative and inclusive financing mechanisms) agro-ecological practices that guarantee the preservation of ecosystems, food/nutritional sovereignty, and livelihoods for people in the rural communities,â he added.
Member of Parliament for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro Sylvester Matthew Tetteh and a member of the New Patriotic Party, has charged Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta of behaving in bad faith after the president begged the majority in parliament to remove him from office.
The minister’s remarks after the president asked for more time, according to the majority member of parliament, may have an impact on the president’s appeal.
“But when the finance minister, after this, goes public and starts making such public statements, we don’t know the challenges he’s gone through⊠I mean, these are comments in bad taste, and that is what I am saying, from where I sit, the signals I am picking, such comments, if it is not checked, will go down on the president’s plea,” he stated on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, edition of Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV.
“We had a meeting, and the president had made a plea; the majority caucus had taken that plea in good faith and to have gone through a process the president had asked. One party, in this case, should not go to town. It’s not good,” he added.
He hinted that the caucus would likely take action, such as boycotting the minister’s upcoming budget presentation in parliament, if his utterances are not checked.
“Events after and the subsequent pronouncements by the minister, the signals I am picking, if they don’t address it, he will come to the house to meet an empty chamber,” he stated.
Following an open call by about 80 majority MPs for the sack of Ken Ofori-Atta, President Akufo-Addo convened a meeting with the caucus where he is said to have made some pleas.
According to reports, the president asked the caucus to give the minister some time to conclude the government’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the presentation of the 2023 budget in parliament.
But responding to the calls for his sacking, Mr Ofori-Atta, in a recent engagement with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), said he rather remains focused on helping the country overcome the current economic challenges despite the pains he has gone through being the minister.
“You have a finance minister who has gone through all the pains and aches, and nobody can really come and say, ‘we don’t understand what we’re doing’,” he stated.
As compared to yesterdayâs trading of a buying price of 13.0012 and a selling price of 13.0142. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 13.90 and sold at a rate of 14.60.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 14.9085 and a selling price of 14.9247 as compared to yesterdayâs trading at a buying price of 14.6862 and a selling price of 14.7034.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 15.40 and sold at a rate of 16.25.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.0057 and a selling price of 13.0176 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 12.6818 and a selling price of 12.6945.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 13.40 and sold at a rate of 14.30.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7351 and a selling price of 0.7359 compared to yesterdayâs trading at a buying price of 0.7065 and a selling price of 0.7071.
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 33.9986 and a selling price of 34.0623 as compared to yesterdayâs trading at a buying price of 34.0122 and a selling price of 34.0644.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 13.50 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 17.50.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has denied publications that some of the chicken and other meat products imported into the country are unwholesome.
The story suggested that chicken and meat products imported into the country appear to have been slaughtered many years back, with most having been injected for preservation purposes, and with the likelihood of dire health implications high, including cancer.
The FDA in a statement, however, has assured the public that chicken and other meat products that are cleared from the ports by the FDA for the Ghanaian market are taken through internationally accredited protocols and procedures that ensure the safety of these products.
âThese processes include evaluation of documents such as the Certificate of Analysis with detailed tests results, Veterinary Certificate from the country of origin, and Veterinary Import Permit from the Veterinary Services Department of Ghana,â the statement detailed.
As further regulatory measures to ensure safety of these products, the FDA noted that in 2018, it established a mini laboratory at the Tema Port to perform testing of meat products before release. In addition, the FDA performs thorough inspection on each consignment that arrives at the ports to ascertain productâs compliance with food safety standards. Specifically, it said each consignment is checked for discolouration and odour, packaging integrity.
âWhere necessary, confirmatory microbiology tests for the absence of microorganisms such as salmonella and listeria are conducted before the products are released onto the market. Any consignment found to be unwholesome is subjected to the requisite regulatory procedures including safe disposal and sanctioning of the importer,â the statement added.
Moreover, it continued that importers of regulated products are required to register those products in accordance with Section 99 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), which states that âa person shall not carry on the business of an exporter or importer of food unless that person is registered by the Authority under this Part as an exporter or importer and has complied with the Regulations and Guidelinesâ.
The Authority, thus, reassured the public that the health and safety of the citizenry is a priority for the Authority and as such would continue to work assiduously throughout this Christmas season and beyond to ensure that only safe and nutritious foods are sold on the markets.
Consumers have also been encouraged to immediately bring to the notice of the FDA any observation of an instance of contaminated, spoilt or expired chicken or other meat products that comes to their notice.
The FDA said it will continue to work with the Association of Ghana Industries and the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) to increase the production and supply of locally produced poultry products for the Ghanaian market.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured the global community of Ghanaâs full commitment to increasing the country’s share of renewable energy in the energy mix.
Speaking at an event on Sustainable Energy for All, organised by Bloomberg Philanthropies, on the sidelines of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, President Akufo-Addo stated that, âwe will continue to increase the share of renewable energy in our electricity generation mix, as well as explore the options of hydrogen gas and other clean energy sources to meet our energy needsâ
According to President Akufo-Addo, âEnergy transition has become a global responsibility for us all, especially in view of the impact of climate change, and the global energy crisis brought forth by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.â
With Ghana being a signatory to the Paris Agreement and other international conventions, which require the country to reduce her carbon dioxide emission levels, he indicated that it has become imperative for Ghana to develop plans and strategies toward the creation of a net-zero energy sector, whilst aggressively pursuing the nationâs economic development.
âOur updated Nationally Determined Contributions, under the Paris Agreement, affirm the countryâs resolve to address the impacts of climate change and build a resilient economy for our peopleâ, he stressed.
President Akufo-Addo continued, âGhanaâs position on energy transition is to continue the responsible exploitation of our natural resources for our development and transition at our own pace. The Government of Ghana is mindful of the actions of the developed countries in relation to energy transition, and their effect on us.â
To this end, he told the gathering that it has thus, become necessary for the Government of Ghana to develop an Energy Transition Framework that will guide the country, as the entire world moves towards realizing net zero
The President also said that the Government of Ghana, being mindful of the implications of such a framework and its implementation on the entire economy, directed the Committee to undertake extensive stakeholder consultations, in addition to expert input, to produce the National Energy Transition Framework to guide its transition to a net-zero economy by 2070 in a just and equitable manner, as well as minimise possible stranded assets and job losses in the oil and gas sector.
The total cost of the transition is estimated at five hundred and sixty-one billion dollars (US$561.8 billion), the President added.
Energy Transition
President Akufo-Addo also addressed the High-Level Meeting on âJust Energy Transitionâ, where he indicated that Ghana has developed a National Energy Transition Framework to provide the vision and guidance for Ghanaâs energy transition.
In preparing this framework, the President stated that all existing policies were considered and the programmes that are being implemented towards achieving Ghanaâs Nationally Determined Contributions.
âWide stakeholder consultations were held to ensure that the energy transition issues in various parts of the country were captured and addressed in the framework. These included organized and non-organized labour, market women, academia, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), Development Partners (DPs) and the international community,â he said.
He explained that the Framework provides the optimal and sustainable pathway for fuel supply security, diversified energy mix and cost-efficient electricity generation, with an estimated generation tariff of less than US$4.5cents per kilowatt hour to accelerate the socio-economic development of Ghana.
âGhana aims to achieve universal access by 2024. The Energy Transition Framework will meet future electricity demand of 380 Terawatt-hours, with a corresponding installed capacity of 83 Giga-Watts. Ghanaâs diversified energy mix will include 21 Gigawatts of renewable energy installed capacity, which will provide the opportunity to enjoy a greater share in the renewable energy carbon credit market,â he added.
President continued, âthe transition will mitigate 200 million tons of carbon dioxide of Green House Gas emissions, minimising energy-related indoor air pollution and associated diseases. It is estimated that forty-eight thousand, two hundred and eighteen (48,218) premature deaths will be avoided annually due to the improvement in air quality, resulting from the impact of the transition.â
The pain of sitting on wooden planks and blocks for lectures was a regular challenge for the students of the Adjikpo-Dokuyo M/A Basic School in Somanya in the Eastern Region.
Lack of furniture and other needs prevented the school from providing a comfortable learning environment.
When GhanaWeb visited the school in February 2022 to assess the situation, he discovered this.
Authorities of the school and other stakeholders while lamenting over the challenge, said the situation made teaching and learning difficult.
The situation adversely affected the schoolâs enrolment with parents withdrawing their wards, leaving only ninety-six pupils still in the school when GhanaWeb visited in early 2022.
Fortunately, the situation has turned around, thanks to help from the Ghana Shippers Authority who have presented some furniture to the school, raising the school’s enrollment from 96 during the peak of the problem to about 220.
At a short ceremony at the schoolâs premises on Friday, the Authority, led by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms. Benonita Bismarck donated 150 dual desks and ten teachersâ chairs and tables for the pupils and teachers.
Also, two individuals donated the new GES-approved textbooks to the teachers and two sets of football jerseys.
The CEO of the Ghana Shippers Authority, Ms. Benonita Bismarck, speaking during the donation, said the Authority decided to come to the school’s aid after reading about the pupils’ predicament.
Narrating how the afternoon of the plight of the school came to her attention and that of the Authority, she said, “This is based on a story I happened to have chanced uponâŠon the tenth of February on Ghanaweb, and I followed the video right to the end and I saw the children, some sitting on blocks, others on logs,” she said.
“This school is not far from Accra but the deprivation that they don’t have even the basics to come to school and as a result parents are withdrawing their children, today, they are more than the ninety-six who were here.
She was hopeful that the donation would help the school run effectively.
Apart from the donation, the CEO announced her personal commitment to support one student, preferably a female to pursue a science-related course from senior high school to the university.
Explaining the decision for her actions, Ms. Benonita Bismarck noted that this was to encourage more girls to pursue science where very few girls find themselves.
“What I’ll like to add is that we’d want to and personally help one student from here who will take the sciences all the way to the University,” she said, adding however that the pupil should consistently excel in her examinations.
The headmistress of the school, while appreciating the gesture, said more, including the need for the extension of the school feeding programme, was required for the school and called on authorities and members of the general public including benevolent individuals and organizations to come on board and support the school.
Seyelor Kwaku Adamptey (Regent) of Adjikpo-Okper Nakuyo who recalled the earlier situation said, “it was so absurd that, in fact, it is an eyesore. Pupils sitting on pieces of blocks, others sitting on worn-out lorry tyres, others on broken chairs, some had no place at all to sit,” he recounted adding that it took only days after the publication for some benevolent individuals and groups to respond to the situation.
The traditional leader also urged the management of the school and the pupils to ensure proper maintenance of the items to ensure that they last longer.
Seyelor Kwaku Adamptey appealed to the Assembly and other donors to address the other needs of the school such as the lack of electricity and a computer lab to enhance effective teaching and learning.
Describing the gesture as “good news to the municipality,” MCE for Yilo Krobo, Hon Eric Tetteh thanked GhanaWeb and the donors for their efforts to bring out the challenges and assistance.
“[It] is good news to the municipality and for me, I need to thank the donors, the Ghana Shippers Authority, and also my extension to GhanaWeb who made this story open for people to come and support us,” said the Assembly chief. “The task ahead of us is enormous and [the] Assembly alone cannot carry it and so it is our agenda to appeal to people to come and support us.”
He made further appeals to the indigenes of Yilo Krobo and other stakeholders to come on board and support the area.
A class six pupil and school prefect of the Adjikpo Dokuyo M/A primary School, Alexander Kwaku Wilson explaining how he and his colleagues felt about the desks said, “I feel very happy, we could not concentrate on what we were learning but rather concentrate on the desks we were sitting on. [Now that we have new desks], it’ll help us concentrate on what they’re teaching us. I want to tell those who brought the desks that God bless them.”
Prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, FourFourTwo has ranked Ghana’s senior national side, the Black Stars, as 24th in the world.
In recent weeks, all 32 participating nations, including the West African nation, have begun to release their new kits that will be utilized for the international exhibition.
This is their actual badge, though, featuring a football neatly encased in the pan-African colours of Ghanaâs flag.
Among the five African countries that qualified for the tournament, Ghana is rated 3rd with Senegal and Cameroon taking up the 1st and 2nd places respectively while Tunisia and Morocco are ranked 4th and 5th respectively.
Black Stars make a return to the tournament after missing out on the 2018 edition in Russia and have been drawn in Group H alongside Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.
Ghana will take on Portugal in their first game on November 24 before playing South Korea and Uruguay on November 28 and December 2 respectively.
Black Stars will play Switzerland in an International friendly on November 17, before travelling to Qatar for the World Cup.
The blogger, Jeffrey Eppirim, was charged with publication of false news while the I. T professional Jeremiah Kobina Egyebeng was charged as his accomplice.
According to a report by Graphic.com.gh, the accused persons were arrested by the police following an investigation into a report by the Bank of Ghana on a publication which, according to the central bank, had caused fear and panic among the public and resulted in panic withdrawals.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Richard Amoah, told the court that the police gathered cyber intelligence that on October 27, 2022, the first accused person published an article on his news portal with the domain https://www.reportghana.net captioned, “Dollar account holders to get cedi at BOG rate for bank withdrawals effective October 31?”.
Nyame, according to the prosecution, shared his publication on various social media platforms, including WhatsApp, causing fear and panic among the general public.
Chief Insp. Amoah told the court that a police investigation established that the second accused person initially created the news portal, ‘reportghana.com’, for Nyame in the year 2019. This was used for the publication of similar articles but was closed down by Google for violating their community standard due to complaints received from users.
“However, Egyebeng again created a similar news portal but this time changed the domain from “dot com” to “dot net” and registered it as reportghana.net on February 11, 2022, to be able to use same for publication of articles and happenings in Ghana.
“After publishing the said false news, Nyame then shared the publication on WhatsApp group platforms including “reportghana news feed 1,” “reportghana news feed 2,” “reportghana news feed 3″ with over 160 active members where he was the administrator with his personal telephone numbers 0551993013 and 0574144388 registered on the platform,” the prosecutor told the court adding that the news was still circulating on social media.
Chief Insp Amoah also said that Nyame admitted to publishing the alleged false news but stated that he got the article from mynewsgh.com, but the investigation established otherwise and confirmed Nyame as the author and publisher.
Egyebeng, according to the prosecution, admitted to the creation of the news portal managed and used by Nyame.
The court fixed the next hearing for December 29 this year, in which period the prosecution is expected to file all disclosures.
However, Chief Insp Amoah told the court that further investigations uncovered other persons involved in the publication but are currently at large, with efforts underway to arrest them.
The Peopleâs National Convention (PNC) has submitted a proposal on how to mitigate the effects of the current economic crisis on Ghanaians.
According to the party, these proposals will help the government in finding solutions to the challenges facing the economy.
The proposals come on the back of President Akufo-Addoâs national address last week, in which he conceded that the country is in a crisis.
The PNC, in a statement, noted that it agrees that the economy is in recession, hence, the proposal to the government in finding solutions to the challenges.
The proposals are as follows:
1. The general increases in prices of goods and services, are obviously being driven by the unprecedented increases in petroleum prices exacerbated by the free fall of the Ghana Cedi. We commend the government’s initiative to import cheap petroleum products as a short-term measure to stabilise prices.
Again, we recommend that the government should take charge of the importation and pricing of petroleum products to ensure prices are affordable for the ordinary Ghanaian. The government should not pay attention to the few individuals trying to thwart its efforts by saying it is impossible. Meanwhile, the government must hasten the operationalisation of the Tema Oil Refinery and other refineries under construction to help permanently bring fuel prices under control.
2. PNC welcomes the decision by the government to reduce the importation of certain foods and beverages into the country. This is not going to be easy; however, more proactive measures must be taken in planning to wean us off the importation of products we can produce locally.
3. We recommend that the government should regulate and be part of the importation of rice and other essential products into the country. The government, through the Buffer Stock Company, must buy the local rice from producers and equally be in control of the amount of rice imported into the country.
The government guaranteeing market for local rice producers will encourage local rice farmers to scale [up] their production, thereby leading to self-reliance in the production of rice. This should be replicated in the production of other foodstuffs.
4. Again, the total reliance on the private sector, in these hard times, to be the sole importer of essential commodities, has not been helpful, as businesses are taking advantage of the situation by selling essential commodities at exorbitant prices. The government must take steps to control the importation of certain essential commodities into the country to ensure affordable prices of such commodities.
5. We recommend to the government, as a matter of urgency, to revamp the operations of the Metro Mass Transport (MMT) and other Public Transport Agencies within three months to minimise the rising cost of transportation, especially within the cities and to offer free rides to schoolchildren and the elderly. Mini-buses should be added to their fleet of vehicles to augment the already existing âtrotroâ and help serve as a check on their charges.
6. We recommend to the government to clamp down on the pricing of items in dollars. We would like the government to enforce the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723), which prohibits pricing, advertising, and receipt or payment for goods and services in foreign currency in Ghana. The sole legal tender in Ghana is the Ghana cedi (GHC) and Ghana pesewa (Gp) and anyone who will violate this act be it hotels, companies, institutions or individuals should be severely punished to serve as a deterrent.
7. The call for the government to cut down on its appointees is justifiable. The government’s move to continue the reduction of its appointeesâ salary by 30% was commendable but it is not being seen to be a great sacrifice as such, we recommend that the government cut down the number of appointees and put the remaining ones on full salary for them to be well motivated to meet performance expectations. This singular act will bring back the credibility and trust the government need from Ghanaians.
The party called on Ghanaians to remain resolute and optimistic about getting out of these difficult times.
âLet us all, and as individuals conduct our businesses in a way that should not cause fear and panic, which will further ruin us all,â the statement added.
He criticised government for doing very little to tackle the root cause of the countryâs economic challenges and always thinking the problem is entirely imported.
Bright Simons argued that a bloated budget has triggered a debt crisis, but government seemed not bothered about cutting waste fast enough.
âHundreds of millions of dollars have been splashed on capital projects, such as irrigation dams, that have simply been abandoned. And at the height of COVID the government was doling out millions of dollars to architects and contractors for esoteric projects, such as bible museums, without parliamentary approval as required by law,â Bright Simons bemoaned in a post.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo weeks ago announced authorities have reached advanced stages of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund(IMF) on a bailout programme for Ghana.
Addressing the nation on the economy, Sunday, October 30, President Akufo-Addo said the country is on a steady path to unlock an IMF-supported programme by the end of the year.
âI am able to report to you, my fellow Ghanaians, that the negotiations to secure a strong IMF Programme, which will support the implementation of our Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth and additional funding to support the 2023 Budget and development programme, are at advanced stages, and are going well.”
âWe are determined to secure these arrangements quickly to bring back confidence and relief to Ghanaians. We are working towards reaching a deal with the IMF by the end of the year. This will give further credence to the measures government is taking to stabilize and grow the economy, as well as shore up our currency.”
A blogger and an IT expert have been brought before the Accra Circuit Court on allegations of disseminating fake information.
The IT expert Jeremiah Kobina Egyebeng was charged as the blogger Jeffrey Eppirim’s collaborator in the publication of false news.
According to a report by Graphic.com.gh, the suspects were detained by the police after an inquiry into a Bank of Ghana report on a publication that the central bank claimed had induced panic withdrawals and anxiety and panic among the general population.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Richard Amoah, told the court that the police gathered cyber intelligence that on October 27, 2022, the first accused person published an article on his news portal with the domain https://www.reportghana.net captioned, “Dollar account holders to get cedi at BOG rate for bank withdrawals effective October 31?”.
Nyame, according to the prosecution, shared his publication on various social media platforms, including WhatsApp, causing fear and panic among the general public.
Chief Insp. Amoah told the court that a police investigation established that the second accused person initially created the news portal, ‘reportghana.com’, for Nyame in the year 2019. This was used for the publication of similar articles but was closed down by Google for violating their community standard due to complaints received from users.
“However, Egyebeng again created a similar news portal but this time changed the domain from “dot com” to “dot net” and registered it as reportghana.net on February 11, 2022, to be able to use same for publication of articles and happenings in Ghana.
“After publishing the said false news, Nyame then shared the publication on WhatsApp group platforms including “reportghana news feed 1,” “reportghana news feed 2,” “reportghana news feed 3″ with over 160 active members where he was the administrator with his personal telephone numbers 0551993013 and 0574144388 registered on the platform,” the prosecutor told the court adding that the news was still circulating on social media.
Chief Insp Amoah also said that Nyame admitted to publishing the alleged false news but stated that he got the article from mynewsgh.com, but the investigation established otherwise and confirmed Nyame as the author and publisher.
Egyebeng, according to the prosecution, admitted to the creation of the news portal managed and used by Nyame.
The court presided over by Mrs Rosemary Baah Torsu admitted both suspects to a GHÂą20,000 bail with two sureties each.
The court fixed the next hearing for December 29 this year, in which period the prosecution is expected to file all disclosures.
However, Chief Insp Amoah told the court that further investigations uncovered other persons involved in the publication but are currently at large, with efforts underway to arrest them.
The Ghana Alternative Exchange (GAX) is on course to attract additional market listings as managers of the stock exchange have engaged more than 140 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in partnership with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), as well as Stanford Seed Transformation Network Ghana.
GAX, a parallel market, focuses on businesses at various stages of their development, including start-ups and existing enterprises â both small and medium, with potential for growth.
In an interview with the B&FT on the side-lines of the Entrepreneurs Solutions Summit, incoming Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), Abena Amoah, mentioned that the Exchange has over the last two years stepped up its efforts at engaging with SMEs through the various established associations, which is expected to yield some positive outturns.
âWeâve signed various memoranda of understanding (MoU) and some are being implemented; one is already with the Stanford Network which is made up of about 140 medium-sized Ghanaian companies run by serious entrepreneurs, and weâre talking to them about utilising the market. We are confident that in the medium-term we can get about 10 of them to come into the market.
âAnother partnership weâre pursuing is with the Association of Ghana Industries. What we are doing is screening SMEs, running clinics for them and preparing them to be put in front of investors,â Ms. Amoah said.
Some weeks ago, the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) signed an MoU with Development Bank Ghana (DBG) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), ensuring that SMEs listed on the Ghana Alternative Market (GAX) will be able to access long-term debt at a low-cost.
Even though the agreement will give these companies access to debt funding, it is anticipated that its design wonât prevent the listed companies from using the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) or seeking equity financing in the long run.
âWe have held some joint clinics with DBG already, screening these companies and even outside that â what we are doing with AGI â we are targetting some of the individual AGI members that could be attractive to the market,â Ms. Amoah said.
Currently, there are six companies listed on the Alternative Market with a total market capitalisation of GHÂą49.8billion, which is woefully inadequate at a time the country is ramping up efforts to be a major player in the continental free trade area.
Ms. Amoah hinted that the GSE is already engaging institutional investors on possibly investing in some of the identified SMEs, in order to diversify their investment portfolios.
âWe have also been engaging with institutional investors to help them look at how they go about diversifying their portfolios. To this end, we are planning a non-deal road show whereby we bring some significant businesses to sell their stories to institutional investors. Hopefully, by the time some of these companies are ready to come to the market, the institutional investors would already know a lot about them,â Ms. Amoah disclosed.
âOur stance is that the market is big for businesses, so SMEs should not be afraid of using the market. Many of these SMEs worry about opening up their companies and being transparent about their operations and putting out their financial information to the public,â she added.
At the launch, she said the manual will help publicly-listed companies, including those listed on the GAX, better position themselves to be globally competitive.
âIt is a well-known fact that businesses across the globe have moved beyond solely focusing on financial metrics in performance evaluation, and are now focusing on both the positive and negative impacts of their operations on the environment⊠The GSE is thankful to our partners for their support in producing this ESG guide that helps Ghanaian companies be more accountable for the impact of their businesses,â she said, adding that the Accra bourse will lead the way by reporting on its ESG impact as an entity.
The manual has been in the works for three years, and is the result of efforts led by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA).
It sees the GSE join some 60-plus stock exchanges globally which provide guidance on ESG reporting, according to the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE), and comes as the value of global sustainable bond issuance is projected to top US$1.5trillion in 2022.
The living income differential (LIB) for cocoa growers in Ghana and Ivory Coast would be $400, according to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
When our two nations start using a new price mechanism for the sale of cocoa at $2,600 per tonne in 2021, he said in 2019, “A Living Income Deferential (LIB) of Four Hundred United States Dollars ($400) per tonne will be paid to farmers for all categories of cocoa beans from Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire.”
President Akufo-Addo has hinted that beginning from the 2021 crop season of cocoa production in Ghana and Ivory Coast, farmers in the two respective countries will be paid a Living Income Differential (LIB) of four hundred United States dollars ($400).
The President made the disclosure when he addressed the UNDP High Level Dialogue with African Influencers at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel under the theme, âAfricaâs Money For African Development: A Future Beyond Aidâ
In his address, President indicated that Ivory Coast and Ghana have agreed initial deals to sell cocoa with a living income premium of $400 a tonne added to the price, in a bid to reform the way global cocoa is priced.
âA Living Income Deferential (LIB) of Four Hundred United States dollars ($400) per tonne will be paid to farmers for all categories of cocoa beans from Ghana and Cote DâIvoire starting from the 2021 cocoa crop season when our two countries begin to apply a new price mechanism for the sale of cocoa at $2,600 dollars per tonneâ President Akufo Addo said.
âThis policy has found support even from major chocolate producers slike Mars who recognize the need to make the industry sustainableâ President Akufo-Addo added.
It is becoming evident, according to security expert Adib Saani, that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo values his Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta more than he values all of the MPs running for his party’s nomination.
The expert explained that even though it is obvious that the minister’s oversight of the sector has contributed to all of the economic problems the country is currently experiencing, the president still values him highly.
âThe president’s refusal to fire the finance minister for this economic mess is only indicative of the importance he attaches to the minister.
âHe attaches greater reverence to the finance minister than all 137 ruling government MPs. Even though the finance minister is the chief architect for these economic fall outs, the president still views him as untouchable for reasons best known to themselves,â he said.
Adib Saani added that the refusal by the president, beyond the mounting of pressure on him from many quarters of the country, to sack Ken Ofori-Atta, only means one thing: he doesn’t care what people think.
âHis refusal to sack him is tantamount to him giving the MPs the middle finger. This certainly proves the seeming lack of accountability in our democracy.
âThe president appears to value personal loyalty over state loyalty,â he added.
Earlier, some 80 MPs from the Majority in parliament made an unprecedented move when they called on the president to sack the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, with immediate effect over his poor performance.
The MPs explained that their constituents had mounted so much pressure on them because they had lost faith in the minister.
However, the president is yet to take such an action even though he met with the MPs, urging them to give the minister time to conclude the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal and present the 2023 budget to parliament.
At a High-Level Event on Sustainable Energy for All hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on the eve of COP27, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo discussed Ghana’s framework for the energy transition.
He said it has become essential for Ghana to develop plans and strategies toward the creation of a net-zero energy sector, while zealously pursuing the country’s economic development, given that the country is a signatory to the Paris Agreement and other international conventions that require the country to reduce its levels of carbon dioxide emissions.
President Akufo-Addo also stated that âwe will continue to increase the share of renewable energy in our electricity generation mix, as well as explore the options of hydrogen gas and other clean energy sources to meet our energy needsâ
According to President Akufo-Addo, âEnergy transition has become a global responsibility for us all, especially in view of the impact of climate change, and the global energy crisis brought forth by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.â
âOur updated Nationally Determined Contributions, under the Paris Agreement, affirm the country’s resolve to address the impacts of climate change and build a resilient economy for our peopleâ, he stressed.
President Akufo-Addo continued, âGhanaâs position on energy transition is to continue the responsible exploitation of our natural resources for our development and transition at our own pace. The Government of Ghana is mindful of the actions of the developed countries in relation to energy transition, and their effect on us.â
To this end, he told the gathering that it has thus, become necessary for the Government of Ghana to develop an Energy Transition Framework that will guide the country, as the entire world moves towards realizing net zero status.
The President also said that the Government of Ghana, being mindful of the implications of such a framework and its implementation on the entire economy, directed the Committee to undertake extensive stakeholder consultations, in addition to expert input, to produce the National Energy Transition Framework to guide its transition to a net-zero economy by 2070 in a just and equitable manner, as well as minimise possible stranded assets and job losses in the oil and gas sector.
He added that the total cost of the transition is estimated at US$561.8 billion.
Energy Transition
President Akufo-Addo also addressed the High-Level Meeting on âJust Energy Transitionâ, where he indicated that Ghana has developed a National Energy Transition Framework to provide the vision and guidance for Ghana’s energy transition.
In preparing this framework, the President stated that all existing policies were considered and the programmes that are being implemented towards achieving Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions.
âWide stakeholder consultations were held to ensure that the energy transition issues in various parts of the country were captured and addressed in the framework. These included organized and non-organized labour, market women, academia, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), Development Partners (DPs) and the international community,â he said.
He explained that the Framework provides the optimal and sustainable pathway for fuel supply security, diversified energy mix and cost-efficient electricity generation, with an estimated generation tariff of less than US$4.5cents per kilowatt hour to accelerate the socio-economic development of Ghana.
âGhana aims to achieve universal access by 2024. The Energy Transition Framework will meet future electricity demand of 380 Terawatt-hours, with a corresponding installed capacity of 83 Giga-Watts. Ghana’s diversified energy mix will include 21 Gigawatts of renewable energy installed capacity, which will provide the opportunity to enjoy a greater share in the renewable energy carbon credit market,â he added.
President continued, âthe transition will mitigate 200 million tons of carbon dioxide of Green House Gas emissions, minimising energy-related indoor air pollution and associated diseases. It is estimated that forty-eight thousand, two hundred and eighteen (48,218) premature deaths will be avoided annually due to the improvement in air quality, resulting from the impact of the transition.â
The prevailing economic hardship is global, albeit lesser felt in some economies than others. Developed economies are struggling, with the majority of its citizens experiencing âunimaginablyâ high interest and inflation rates for the first time in their lives.
In most developing and poor countries, the effects are enormous and is resulting in political unrests and instability. In Ghana, the effect has been seen in energy, food, transport and other economic sectors. The honest truth is that similar to the early days of COVID-19, nobody can predict when these troubled times will end. It is an economic mystery.
The International Monetary Fund(IMF) and World Bank have predicted that the world may be edging toward a global recession in 2023 with a string of financial crises still lurking. What it basically means to the ordinary Ghanaian is that things are not going to get any better in the next coming year. What you must therefore do as a person to survive the current and future economic crises is to adopt methods to manage your finances, both personal and economic.
At this stage understand that some things are within your control, and many others are not. So itâll be for your own sanity that you focus on the things you can control, such as your perspective, beliefs, value, actions, etc. and let go the things outside you control, such as the economy, politics, time, the weather, etc. Epictetus said: âMake the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happensâ. Viktor Frankl also said: âWhen we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselvesâ.
Prepare and maintain a budget
A budget is a guide to your income and expenditure. A budget enables you to track your expenses and follow a plan. A budget makes it easier to make your payments as and when they fall due. Overall, a budget puts you on stronger financial footing for both the day-to-day and the long term. You canât live a meaningful life without maintaining an effective budget. Take records of all your income and subtract your monthly expenses from it. Follow this path courageously and you can save money for some of the things that need attention.
Live below your means. If that is too difficult, then live within your means. That is possible. Go through your expenses and identify which ones can be eliminated or reduced to a reasonable amount.
Buy only the things you need
The temptation to buy things increase when you have money. If you carefully think about this, you realise that you end up not even using most of them after making the unguarded decision to buy them. Sometimes some of them can be very expensive, but end up in our cabinets or storage rooms until they eventually go waste.
This could have been avoided if we were more critical about our spending habit. This is the time to be measured in your purchases. You should only buy things that are relevant to your current situation. Do not buy anything that does not affect your personal survival at this period.
Cook at home
Dining out all the time is bad, aside from it being for your finances, it is also bad for your health. You should be able to eat at least some meals at home, and treat yourself with a few of those you canât prepare by yourself, sometimes. Fortunately for you, as a Ghanaian, most of our meals are not so difficult to prepare and they can be cooked within minutes. One way to save money on food is to try and eat foodstuffs that are in season, and there is no better time to adopt this strategy than this period.
Consume more of yam, plantain or any other staple thatâs in its season. You should also do same for fruits and vegetables so that you can save money for other contingencies. The left-overs can be saved in your fridge for the next day. You can also cook and package some of the food to the office for lunch. Eating outside all the time can be very costly, and you must take steps to avoid it to save your budget and your health.
Save power
These are difficult times, you canât afford to be wasteful with your utilities. Barely three months ago, the PURC increased utility tariffs by some astonishing amount, which was met with an outcry from all sectors of the economy. Turn off your TV, sound system, laptop, desktop computer, refrigerator, lights, air-condition, etc. when they are not in use.
It may sound trivial but the little savings you make on your utilities today could buy your next meal. Sometimes we combine these gadgets and all we do is waste money on power without even realising it. Make sure that you choose to do one or two at a time, and put off the others if they are not in use.
Sell or park your car
As we are learning to minimise our expenditure so that we can survive this turbulent storm, one of the smartest decisions you can make as a person is to park your vehicle or sell it, at least until you afford this life again. There is no obligation to drive your car even if you canât afford to.
This is the time to make a bold decision to make for your own sanity. Resist the temptation to worry about what people may say or think about you. This is the time to choose your personal sanity. If your vehicle is not used for making any direct income, then park or sell it, at least until things become stable when you can afford driving it again.
Invest your surplus funds
If you are one of the few fortunate people who still make surplus funds periodically after taking care of your expenses for the month, then you should think of investing that money. Just as interest rates are high for borrowers, it is also quite high for investors.
The current Treasury bill rate, the safest form of monetary investment, is over 30 percent. Keeping your surplus funds in a savings account wonât be a smart decision, since your bank will loan it to people at almost 40 percent interest rate. Investing in Treasury Bills, Fixed Deposit or Mutual Funds wonât be a bad idea. You stand a good chance of making some respectable income from the investment.
Exercise regularly
If youâre not ready, donât go and waste your money at the gym. Your friend just went to register so you think you should do same; if she quits, it is likely you also will. Iâve seen people enter once and never step a foot there again. On average the minimum subscription for a proper gym is GHÂą100 per month, some charge as high as GHÂą300. If you register, youâre likely to pay not less than GHÂą200. If you donât have time, itâs not worth wasting your money. If you are already a registered member who is almost absent all the time then cancel your subscription and plan your personal training sections at home. Maintain a simple work-out calendar, say three times a week jogging schedule.
Stop trying to keep up with âcelebritiesâ
A few months ago, you could compete with your idol celebrities on latest phones, clothes, shoes and others. Well, this is the time to slow down and manage yourself. The celebrities may not be personally buying the things they use. Even in these challenging times, they could still be benefitting from their celebrity status. Make good use of the money you have now to sustain your life.
Give up on some pleasures
The days of living life to the fullest are not over yet, but this is a period in every individualâs life where lifestyle adjustment is critical to saving your next meal. We often perceive that happiness is consequential to seeking pleasure. But that is inaccurate, you can be happy without necessarily floating in pleasure.
At this point in the current economic crisis, you have to reduce your engagements with pleasure. Regular outings, too many friends, and certain avoidable travels can all be minimised; and where it is not critical, stopped. You can align your happy moments to less costly pleasures such as listening to music, spending more time with your family at home, playing video games, etc. to avoid buying fuel to drive around aimlessly.
Give
It is a spiritual and physical fact that people who give always have enough to give. No matter how bad you think your situation is at this time, someone else is in a more dire state. This person can be your friend, neighbour, extended family, or a colleague at work. It is, therefore, important to make a necessary adjustment to help others who would do with your widowâs mite. âThere is blessing in givingâ, âGivers never lackâ, âGive and it shall comeback to youâ are all principles or axioms that work.
Bonus point: Invent laughter
They say laughter is medicine; and psychologically, that is true. Laughter is a therapy, you need it at this crucial time for your own sanity. How do you laugh when there is no moment for it? Invent it. Create your own moments. If you have young children, spend time and observe the interesting, childish things they do and help yourself with some laughter. Spend time reminiscing on some beautiful, memorable past moments of your life.
You can also make time to regularly watch movies at home, especially comic movies. You should make sure that while you create these moments, you abstain from distraction, such as constantly checking on your phone, reading the news, etc.
The world is currently going through a transition. How you survive the storm will entirely depend on you. Try to adjust and make some lifestyle changes, and youâll be able to live to see the great stability that will follow.
Former captain of the Black Stars Asamoah Gyan has emphasized that the team benefited from their unrest at the 2014 World Cup.
When the team’s appearance fee was delayed, players threatened to skip practice in order to underperform the team in their final group match against Portugal.
However, the then NDC government airlifted 3 million dollars to the camp of the team ahead of the team but the Black Stars suffered a 2-1 defeat to exit the tournament with just a point after three games.
“What happened in Brazil was unfortunate, but our predecessors paved the way and we did the same for the next generation to be where they are now,” Gyan told GHOne TV.
âA lot of mistakes were made in the past but now they have been rectified.
“Now when we are going into a tournament, these financial issues are sorted out way ahead of time to prevent a repeat of that event in Brazil.
âHitherto, it was not done that way. We will get to a tournament before we begin negotiations (for our bonuses), which will lead to disruptions and loss of focus. It (the strike) was a blessing in disguise. We did what we had to do for our younger ones to benefit today,” he added.
Ghana failed to qualify for the last edition hosted in Russia in 2018 but has made a return to the global showpiece scheduled to be hosted in Qatar.
Crude oil prices have risen above $70 per barrel, according to ISSER, with major consequences for transportation costs, production costs, prices of goods and services, and livelihoods.
It recommended the government to take action to lessen the consequences on the economy, particularly on the impoverished people’s means of subsistence.
The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) is charging the government to reduce the public debt stock to sustainable levels by 2024 through a prudent debt management strategy.
In its State of the Ghanaian Economy Report and Review of 2021 3rd Quarter Economic Performance, the research and economic think tank said debt service payments accounted for 62.1 percent of domestic revenue in 2020 (51.9 percent in 2019) and therefore require drastic action to bring the debt levels down.
In the second quarter of 2021, Interest payments accounted for about 45 percent of total tax revenue. This ISSER said limits the fiscal space, thereby affecting capital expenditure/Investments needed to stimulate further growth.
Furthermore, it also urged the government to increase support to businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to help accelerate the recovery process.
It pointed out that the negative impact of the pandemic on businesses despite the various intervention programmes instituted by the government indicates that government must do more to aid recovery in the economy.
On other recommendations, ISSER said, “crude oil prices have surged and above $70 per barrel with serious implications on transport fares, cost of production, prices of goods and services and livelihoods”. It, therefore, urged the government to take steps to minimize the effects on the economy especially the livelihood of the poor.”
ISSER recommended that since the COVID-19 Health Levy and the Financial Sector clean-up Levy seem to be performing better than the others, a critical assessment of these taxes is needed to ascertain whether they are efficient means of raising revenue rather than a “nuisance” tax that stifles private businesses.
Ghana recorded appreciable growth rates since 2020 with an oil Gross Domestic Product of 3.9 percent and non-oil GDP growth of 5.2 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2021.
Although the country is among the fastest-growing economies, ISSER said higher growth in labor-intensive sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing with high-value addition is very critical in order to avoid the jobless growth syndrome.
Professor Lord Mensah, an economist, has stated that the economy’s management needs change after the resignation of Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta.
He added that what Mr. Ofori-Atta is doing is not real and it doesn’t happen anyplace, contending that the finance minister is attempting to separate the dynamics of the economy from its administration.
The economist clarified that economic management and economic dynamics go hand in hand.
“Obviously management is to blame if the entire populace is demanding his ouster.
It conveys the message that the surroundings are undesirable.
Therefore, it is inappropriate for him to suggest that we should concentrate on the IMF and potentially revive the economy.
âFor me his understanding of the management and influence of economic dynamics, he should understand that the economy is not autopilot, the economy must be managed. If at the end of the day those that are supposed to feel the impact of the economy are saying that things are not going well with them that he should resign, he has to. He is not the one to come and explain and tell us that we have to focus on how we can restore the economy,â Prof. Mensah told Starr News.
âI think his resignation will bring about some confidence to the economy and as a result of that maybe the economy will head in the right direction. Trust me you cannot dissociate human thinking when it comes to economic dynamics from the real numbers that are on the ground. We are waiting for him to resign so that we can have breathing space. As we speak now his presence as a Finance Minister has brought about a whole lot of uncertainty in the economy.
âPeople cannot even plan, investors cannot even look ahead and look at the next moment. As we speak now there are so many things going on at the back side of the economy that we donât even know,â he added.
Isaac Adongo, a member of parliament for Bolgatanga Central, requested that the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Rev. Ogbamey Tetteh, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Y.Addison, and the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, be charged for their roles in the failure of financial institutions.
“Ghana’s banking sector has continued to come under predatory regulatory and fiscal attack to bring a portion of the financial sector to its knees for the predator to prey on,” Adongo said in a statement on October 8, 2018.
He called it “an clear scheme that seems to support the dominance and expansion of Databank and its affiliated parties.”
Bolgatanga Central MP, Isaac Adongo, has called on the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to investigate and prosecute Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest Y. Addison, and the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Rev. Ogbamey Tetteh, “for their various and joint roles in inciting panic withdrawals from financial institutions, conflict of interest, insider and underhand dealings”, which, according to him, “resulted in the collapse of banks to satisfy their selfish interest”.
In a statement issued on Thursday, October 8 2018, Mr Adongo said: “Ghana’s financial sector has continued to come under predatory regulatory and fiscal attack to bring a section of the financial sector on its knees for the predator to prey on”.
“An obvious plan that appears to promote the dominance and growth of Databank and its related parties”, he said.
According to him, “since the emergence of Databank and Enterprise group staff on the regulatory landscape of Ghana’s financial sector, it has become almost certain that with the conduct of the regulatory agencies, Bank of Ghana (BoG), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the tacit collaboration of the Minister of Finance, there’s a plan to collapse the financial sector”.
Mr Adongo said: “Not surprisingly, at the time of great loss of confidence in the financial sector with players across the entire financial sector struggling to cope with the systemic melt down, Databank appears to be the only investment or fund management company among its peers to be soaring and expanding its branch network to take advantage and pick up the spoils of war jointly prosecuted by BoG and SEC to decimate its competitors”.
Read the rest of Mr Adongo’s statement below:
Obviously, the panic withdrawals that have hit Ghana’s banking and general financial sector is a planned regulatory strategy to achieve this end.
This can be found in the following stance of the regulators and the Minister of Finance;
1. Intentional confidence-dipping comments and deliberate poor handling of collapsed Banks by the Governor
2. “Industry collapsing strategies” and directives of SEC under the former Databank Vice President
3. Ken Ofori-Atta’s refusal to pay debts owed banks by contractors.
4. Ken Ofori-Atta’s use of the media to incite the public against local banks’ directors to divert attention from his real intentions.
DR ADDISON AND BoG CREATED SUSTAINED CONFIDENCE CRISIS TO FUEL PANIC WITHDRAWALS
– The handling of the resolution of UT Bank and Capital Bank was followed with a deliberate policy to worsen the already fragile confidence in the sector. Term depositors whose investments were transferred to GCB Bank were denied access to their funds.
Their investments were downgraded from 26% per annum to 8.5% per annum and were forced to hold these investments for longer periods even though they were not interested. This created serious challenge, some of which are listed below;
a) Fund managers and local banks whose costs of capital were higher than the lower interest rates they were forced to accept, made significant losses and subsidized the takeover.
b) Fund Managers of local banks experienced liquidity crunch because they could not redeem their investments in UT/Capital banks to honour their obligations to the clients whose funds had been invested with the Banks
c) Fund Managers and local banks who were struggling to meet these demands from clients began to see panic withdrawals and further worsening of their liquidity.
d) While all these financial institutions were being slapped with punitive measures on their investments, Databank had already taken its monies with UT Bank. Clearly, there is insider dealing using the footprints of Databank on the regulatory environment.
Clearly, Dr Addison and his men had achieved their objective of inciting panic withdrawals in our local banks and financial institutions.
– Whilst the Banks were mapping up strategies to pick up the pieces and to rebuild confidence in the banking and financial sector, Dr Addison had aimed another attack on the sector by announcing that he was going to publish the list of Banks he “magically” knew will not meet the minimum capital in July 2018 (six clear months ahead of the deadline).
This singular misguided but self-serving conduct of Dr Addison created yet another spiral of panic withdrawals in the banking and financial sector. Depositors who were not sure if their deposits in local banks were going to be safe, began to move their monies to foreign banks.
– Dr Addison, after inciting these panic withdrawals, went ahead to look for banks whose solvency had been affected by his own conduct and moved in to consolidate five of them under some bizarre circumstances, including the use of Databank staff to take these banks.
This consolidation and its deliberate poor handling was to further aggravate an already terrible situation. The consolidation brought the confidence in the banking and financial sector to its lowest ebb.
A few of the happenings aimed at further creating predator opportunities in the sector are listed below;
a) Similar to the UT/Capital banks’ takeover, term deposits of customers have been forcefully downgraded.
b) An initial scam from CBG was that, “CBG is the second-biggest bank in Ghana by branch network”, a scam that lasted only a few days as over 98 branches were closed and several employees made redundant.
c) CBG played on customers using spurious excuses such as “reconciliation of accounts” when indeed even current account holders could not access their funds.
d) CBG has been illegally suppressing customers’ cheques in an unprecedented compromise of the entire banking system.
e) CBG now pays cheques by installments against all known banking practices.
It is interesting to note that as usual Databank had redeemed its investments before Beige Bank was consolidated. Databank, through this insider dealings, doesn’t get affected by the downgrade of deposits and forced liquidity crunch.
The activities of this consolidated bank after claims that they have been issued bonds and stated capital of about GHS6.1 billion has destroyed any lingering confidence of the public in the central bank to protect their investments.
The end result is the unrelenting panic withdrawals in our local banks and financial institutions.
Unfortunately, the Governor has assured us that the destruction is now poised to hit savings and loans and microfinance institutions.
Dr Addison must be immediately investigated and prosecuted for inciting this unprecedented panic withdrawals and collapse of financial institutions before he destroys what is left of our financial sector.
DATABANK FORMER VICE-PRESIDENT AT SEC INCITING PANIC WITHDRAWALS AND COLLAPSE OF BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTION
In April and May 2018 when Databank went on a rampant redemption of its investments with local banks and fund management companies, little did we know that it was acting on insider information of an impending SEC directive that would incite panic withdrawals and wipe out strong local banks and financial institutions.
In May 2018, players woke up to an “industry-collapsing-directive” from the Securities and Exchange Commission headed by a former Vice-President of Databank asking all fund management companies to withdraw their deposits and investments in financial institutions in six months.
This was in the wake of the onslaught of the panic withdrawals that had already hit the local banks and financial institutions from BOG confidence crushing gymnastics. The effect of this directive has been most shocking and devastating;
1. Beige Bank lost GHS1.5 billion within one month of implementation of the directive. The following month, Beige was “taken over” by BoG through a senior staff of Databank, Babatunde Ampah.
2. GN Bank lost GHS1.5 billion in 2 months of the directive.
3. Fund management companies have been wiped off with investors still chasing their cheques.
It is estimated that over 30,000 direct jobs have been lost in the fund management space. The hitherto GHS30.6 billion industry is fast disappearing whilst Databank is now magically expanding to all the Regional capitals to be the dominant and fastest growing Investment Bank to benefit from its dying peers.
4. Most local banks have suddenly become insolvent and unattractive in their quest to raise the minimum capital with less than two months to the deadline.
KEN OFORI-ATTA USING FISCAL POLICY TO STRANGLE BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO DEATH
Ironically, when the banks collapse, the Minister of Finance is quick to find the money to resolve these banks.
The following banks were suffocated by fiscal gymnastic;
1. The Minister of Finance refused to pay Government debts to clients of Unibank totaling about GHS1 billion that would have saved the bank.
2. The Minister of Finance refused to pay Government debts to clients of Royal Bank totaling GHS250m that would have saved the bank
3. The Minister of Finance is refusing to pay government debts to clients of GN Bank totaling GHS1.3 billion that would make the bank stronger and profitable.
4. The Minister of Finance will save our local banks and help improve their capital adequacy to help towards meeting their minimum capital obligation if he pays debts owed to clients of local banks totaling GHS5.7 billion.
It is difficult to understand the sense in the Minister of Finance refusing to save our banks by paying the GHS5.7 billion owed them and their clients but find GHS13 billion to spend on collapsed banks.
I urge the President, the Office of Special Prosecutor and the Attorney General to marshal state investigative machinery and resources to investigate and prosecute Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta, Dr Addison and Rev Ogbamey Tetteh for inciting panic withdrawals of deposits in our banks and financial institutions as well as conflict of interest activities by the finance minister.
Following a successful Offshore Vessel Inspection Database (OVID) testing on November 5, 2021, Tullow Ghana received the first MV Flat Confidence last year.
“As a significant oil and gas firm in Ghana, we acknowledge the active leadership role we must play to promote local capability for involvement in the oil and gas business,” said Wissam Al Monthiry, managing director of Tullow Ghana.
Oil giant subsidiary Tullow Ghana has taken delivery of the MV Flat Confidence following the successful Offshore Vessel Inspection Database (OVID) testing on November 5, 2021.
The MV Flat Confidence vessel is the first Ghanaian-owned and Ghanaian-flagged marine vessel to support offshore activities in the oil and gas industry in the country.
Managing Director of Tullow Ghana, Wissam Al Monthiry, reacting to the development, said, “As a leading oil and gas company in Ghana, we recognise the active leadership role we must play to develop local capacity for participation in the oil and gas industry.
“That is why last year, we adopted the marine sector to develop local capacity in that sector to support the oil industry. We are extremely happy to have achieved this, and we appreciate our key stakeholders, joint venture partners, Government of Ghana, Ports and Harbours Authority, the Ministry of Energy and the Petroleum Commission for their efforts in helping us make this possible. Hopefully, this is the start of something progressive.”
The MV Flat Confidence was acquired by Flat C Marine Offshore Limited, following a long-term contract granted by Tullow Ghana to the company that enabled them to raise finances to procure the vessel.
In 2020, Tullow Ghana embarked on an initiative to develop the local capacity of the oil and gas industry through the adoption of the marine sector with the aim of creating opportunities for indigenous Ghanaian companies to own and operate vessels to support the oil and gas industry, and upscale the capacity of Ghanaian personnel in the marine sector.
The presence of the Flat Confidence vessel is said to reflect Tullow’s commitment to developing and supporting capability growth to international standards in marine sectors.
The marine sector adoption initiative aims at enhancing indigenous participation with 100% Ghanaian-owned and operationally Ghanaian-flagged offshore vessels. This is also part of Tullow’s Shared Prosperity agenda, which includes optimising local content and developing supplier capacity.
Meanwhile, the 71-meter long and 19-meter wide vessel will be operational in the Western region of Ghana and will support the work of Tullow Ghana’s two FPSOs â Kwame Nkrumah and John Evans Atta Mills.
Over the years, oil firms in the country have played a significant role in accelerating the socio-economic development of the country.
While “Jamzâ will be Sarkodieâs seventh studio album, it features some top Ghanaian and Nigerian artists, along with sensational Ghanaian musician, Black Sherif.
Since Blackoâs entry into the music scene, the âKwaku the Traveler’ artiste sparked excitement among netizens who looked forward to a collaboration between Sarkodie and himself.
That wish wasnât far-fetched when the father of two finally composed a song with the young artiste.
With ten songs on the Jamz album, the Sark Nation Boss, aside from Blacko had the likes of Cina Soul, Oxlade, Joe Boy, Lojay, Kranium, and King Promise, among others, featuring in some of his songs.
Ahead of his album release, the ‘Non-Living Things’ artistes released a new single titled âLabadiâ ahead of his upcoming Jamz album.
âLabadiâ featured King Promise and Nigerian producer, DJ Coublon, who worked on the rapperâs âNon-Living Thingâ.
The song has a blend of mid-tempo Afrobeats and Amapiano rhythms, which gives fans the notion that Sarkâs other tracks will be equally good.
Diabetes is a condition in which the body struggles to regulate the amount of sugar in the blood. That leads to high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). This condition weakens blood vessels and can damage internal organs such as the heart, eyes, brain, arteries, and kidneys.
The pancreas produces a hormone called insulin that takes sugar (glucose) into cells and removes it from the blood. Unfortunately, a lot of individuals suffer with some degree of insulin resistance which causes diseases and obesity.
The first signs of diabetes are usually not detected by blood tests. This is because the body compensates by producing more insulin. Here are some early signs of diabetes you should not ignore.
1) Dark patches on the skin
The most common sign of diabetes is the dark patches of velvety or leathery skin which can be seen in body folds such as the armpits, neck and groin.
2) Craving for sweets
If your blood sugar isn’t properly controlled, you’re more likely to experience sugar cravings after meals. This condition occurs because cells do not normally absorb sugar from the blood and can cause a sugar craving for energy.
3) Blurred vision
In the early stages of insulin resistance, blurred vision may occur. You will not be able to concentrate on what you are looking at. Insulin resistance causes the liquid lens to swell. High blood sugar can also damage the blood vessels associated with the eye, causing distorted vision and blurred vision.
4) Frequent urination at night
When there is too much glucose in the blood, it binds with water, causing the body to retain more water. The kidney have to work overtime to filter the blood sugar which causes frequent urination.
5) Puffy face
If you eat too many carbs and sugars, or if your body can’t control your blood sugar levels, you’re more likely to have puffy faces. Too much sugar in the blood causes fluid retention, which makes the face swell.
According to him, the main focus of the initiative is to produce more foodstuffs, especially rice( from the Guan district and Northern parts of Ghana), tomatoes, onions and maize from other parts of the country.
After launching the initiative, John Dumelowas hopeful that the initiative would reduce our rice, tomatoes, and onions imports by 50% in the next 6 years.
He called on all to join hands to make the initiative work.
,âIâm happy to launch the âOperation Feed Ourselvesâ initiative this morning. The main focus of this initiative is to produce more foodstuff especially rice( from the Guan district and Northern parts of Ghana), tomatoes, onions and maize from other parts of the country.
“Another important aspect is to urge Ghanaians to add value to what we produce and consume Made in Ghana products. Hopefully this initiative will reduce our rice, tomatoes, onions imports by 50% in the next 6 years. Lets us all join hands to make this work,â the actor posted on his Facebook page.
He added that, âItâs a great time to be a farmer. God bless you and God bless Ghana. #operationfeedourselvesâ
The song dubbed âTurn Up Remixâ is to motivate the Black Stars and supporters for the FIFA World Cup, which would begin on November 20 to December 18, 2022.
The song features Afrobeats singer Kiaani, the original song âTurn Upâ was released earlier this year.
This is the second collaboration between Asamoah Gyan and Kiaani, the first song was titled âungratefulâ, which made waves in the music industry.
However, Gyan known for his goal scoring prowess also had mild music career and as he collaborated with Castro on the popular âAfrican Girlsâ song after the 2010 World Cup.
Asamoah Gyan posted on his Twitter page saying âThe Anthem for the FIFA World Cup is here letâs go Ghana!â.
Edem, born Denning Edem Hotor, Volta Regime Music Group (VRMG) Boss has advised against adulteration of folklore songs to preserve the history behind them.
He said folklore song -made and handed down among common people â a key part of music, which in turn is a key part of culture, is a way of storing culture and rich values of people thus, must be maintained.
The award-winning artist gave the advice when the Ghana News Agency caught up with him at the 2022 Hogbetsotsoza durbar of the chiefs and people of the 36 states of Anlo at Anloga.
âOur folkore songs cast in time, stories that remind us of events from a certain point in time.
When you sing a song like âAklie doa goka meâŠ,â itâs a story of the migration of the Ewes.
âAnd so music in itself has a way of storing culture and stories of rich values that we have as a people.
âAnd as Iâm using this platform, Iâm also trying to tell people that because of that, donât just take folkore songs and turn them into either a Christian or any song because when we do that, it loses the story of what our fathers stored in the music as a message that would remind us of who we are.â
Edem said there was the need for artistes to incorporate the contemporary style of music into the local or traditional music of their people to continue to make it live on as a music artform which âis a part of our rich cultural heritageâ.
The modern day champion of Ewe music at both national and international stages disclosed that most of his urban songs were inspired by a style of drum in the Volta Region known as âkinka.â
Edem who uniquely made Ghana fall in love with him through the use of Ewe language, rhythmic quality and depth of lyrics of songs on his debut album, Volta Regime released in 2019, advised the youth to be frugal and have backyard gardens to enable them withstand the economic hardship currently being experienced in the country.
Actress Lydia Forson has described as a shame, the three days of fasting and prayers for the Ghanaian economy by the Church of Pentecost.
Members of the Church of Pentecost have been asked by the Chairman of the Church to begin the fasting and prayers from Thursday, November 10.
In a communique signed by Apostle Eric Nyamekye, members are to pray and intercede for the nation and the global community amidst the economic crises.
âThe fasting and prayers, which are scheduled to end on Sunday, November 13, will be observed on the theme: âSo we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayerâ (Ezra 8:23), all assemblies have been asked to go about their existing programmes for the week, nonetheless, these prayer and fasting sessions may be fused with any existing programme scheduled for the week.
âAll Area Heads and ministers are to get involved and organise these meetings at any convenient level that will yield the maximum result,â the communique added.
Reacting to the instruction in a series of tweets, the actress questioned why the church didn’t use its position to hold the government accountable beyond the fasting and prayers.
“Imagine the church actually took a positions to HOLD government accountable beyond prayers[sic]. Imagine the church used its power/influence to get our government to do right by its people. Instead, the church (most) use their position to only advance itself and agenda[sic]. Shame.
“I would have respected the church’s position a lot more if they kept the same energy [with the LGBTQ+]. But Iâve reiterated many times that a lot of religious bodies are NOT for the people, many unfortunately just use religion to advance their own agenda.
“Imagine Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. asking black people to fast and pray for 3 days to end discrimination and not speaking against the injustices people of colour were facing. Prayers, yes, but action too,” Lydia Forson stressed.
Imagine the church actually took a positions to HOLD government accountable beyond prayers.
Imagine the church used its power/influence to get our government to do right by its people.
Instead the church (most) use their position to only advance itself and agenda. Shame.
I would have respected the churches position a lot more if they kept the same energy.
But Iâve reiterated many times that alot of religious bodies are NOT for the people, many unfortunately just use religion to advance their own agenda. https://t.co/sWqDurrxuw
Imagine Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. asking black people to fast and pray for 3 days to end discrimination and not speaking against the injustices people of colour were facing.
With an Afro-futurism theme, Nollywood stars dressed up taking inspiration from numerous African culture and Black Pantherâs fictional Wakanda.
The cast of the Black Panther sequel, including Lupita Nyongâo, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Tenoch Huerta and Director Ryan Coogler, was present at the event.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit theatres on November 11.
Bulldog is suing Shatta Wale for defamation after the musician threatened to expose his alleged secret involving the death of late artiste manager, Fennec Okyere.
In a social media post on Wednesday, November 2, the âMy Levelâ hitmaker wrote, âBull Dog, since you are bringing out secrets, you will tell Ghanaians what happen to Fenicks (sic) Murder!! And I am not joking about this time!!â
âI am ready to tell the court about what you told me about you and your men and how you planned that foolish act, get ready. This Akufo-Addo wonât give you a murderer (sic) chance to be on our streets!!! Watch how this ends!!! You canât fight time!!!â
In the court documents filed at an Accra High Court, Bulldogâs lawyers indicated that these statements seek to suggest that he planned, effected or had a hand in Mr Okyereâs death.
They added that Shatta Waleâs claims also meant âthat the Plaintiff is a criminal gangster and a danger to society and ought to be in jail (rather than walk freely in the streets).â
Also, âthat his (the Defendantâs) claims in the publication are factual, truthful, and must be taken seriously by the public and law enforcement authorities.â
They indicated that these statements have triggered a re-investigation into the death of Mr Okyere by the police.
But, Bulldogâs team insist that these statements are false, malicious and only defames the artiste manager.
Thatâs not all, the lawyers cited other statements Shatta Wale has made which they believe to also be defamatory.
They include claims that Bulldog had allegedly said former President Mahama asked him to procure gun men for a supposed job and also women for him.
The lawyers noted that these statements implies that âthe Plaintiff is a person who engages in illicit gun violence, contract killing and other related crimes,â and also âthat the Plaintiff is in the trade of procuring, controlling, and arranging prostitutes in return for money and other material gains.â
Thus, Bulldog is seeking a declaration from the court that these statements and others highlighted in the suit are defamatory and malicious.
He is also calling on the court to direct Shatta Wale to retract his allegations and apologise to him.
Bulldog is demanding that the âAyooâ hitmaker apologise âon all his social media pages or accounts, make a publication on seven consecutive daysâ adding that âsuch retraction and apology to be vetted and approved by the Plaintiffâs lawyers.â
He is also seeking a perpetual injunction that hinders Shatta Wale from publishing any defamatory comments about him.
Among other things, Bulldog is seeking âgeneral damages for defamation, special damages for defamation, punitive damages for malicious publication of falsehood against the plaintiff, cost, and any other orders or remedies that the Court may deem fit.â
Background
This comes nearly a week after Shatta Wale threatened to reveal a secret Bulldog told him in relation to the death of the artiste manager.
The threat was in reaction to the leakage of the list of artistes featuring on the tracks for Shatta Waleâs upcoming album, âGift of Godâ (GOG) by Bulldog.
The âAyooâ hitmaker stated that he is ready to tell any court what Bulldog told him about the murder of Fennec Okyere.
This caught the attention of Kwaw Kese whose career Fennec Okyere managed before his passing in 2014.
He shared a screenshot of Shatta Waleâs post and called on the Police to get justice for his former manager.
The Police later released a statement noting that they were in touch with Shatta Wale and hoped to get relevant information to help find the culprit.
Fennec Okyereâs death
Fennec Okyere, who was the manager of Kwaw Kese, was murdered at his Manet Gardens residence on the Spintex Road, Accra on Thursday, March 13, 2014 by unknown assailants. He died at age 31.
Following his death, Bulldog, born Lawrence Nana Asiama Hanson, was picked up by the Police Criminal Investigative Department (CID).
He was arrested at Kokomlemle, a suburb of Accra, as a suspect in the death of Fennec Okyere.
This was because Bulldog who had regular beefs with Fennec Okyere, had supposedly threatened him in an interview on radio.
While on the Police charge sheet Bulldog was to face the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, his plea was not taken.
In 2017, the Bullhaus Entertainment CEO was freed from the charges in relation with the alleged murder, with then Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo saying the state was no longer interested in prosecuting Bulldog over the alleged murder of Fennec Okyere.
This was contained in the A-Gâs advice on the case docket. Kwaw Kese registered his unhappiness about the development.
âEven the prosecutors were not going to court. I believe our security system is very weak,â a very disappointed Kwaw Kese told Lexis Bill in an interview on Behind the Fame on Drive Time on Joy FM in 2018.
But, Bulldog has consistently maintained that he is innocent, thus had no hand in the passing of Fennec Okyere.
According to him, the jabs they threw at each other were aimed at promoting their artistes and also to remain relevant as managers.
In a 2022 interview on Hitz FM, Bulldog maintained his innocence adding that he never threatened Fennec Okyere, despite their disagreements.
Meanwhile, Shatta Wale is expected to respond to the suit eight days after he has been served.
Ghana international, Stephan Ambrosius has confirmed that he will miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In a post on Instagram confirming the news, the highly-rated defender said he is frustrated.
He, however, has wished his club Karlsruher SC and the Black Stars of Ghana all the best in their respective upcoming assignments.
âVery frustratingđ unfortunately Iâll be missing the next games. Thank you so much for all the well wishes!
âI wish my club @karlsruhersc and the national team @ghana_fa_official all the best on their upcoming tasks,â Stephen Ambrosius has said in a post on Instagram.
The highly-rated defender was in action for Karlsruher SC on Saturday when the team suffered a 4-1 defeat to Holstein Kiel in the German Bundesliga 2.
Although he would last the entire duration of the game, he left the pitch in pain. After an assessment today, it has been revealed that Stephen Ambrosius will have to be sidelined for a few weeks.
After giving up a goal early in the second half, the Porcupine Warriors battled back to defeat their opponent 2-1.
Today’s game between Asante Kotoko and Samartex FC was the fifth matchday match of the current campaign.
After a goalless draw first half, Prince Antwi scored four minutes after recess to give Samartex FC the lead.
Pegged behind, it took a display of resilience for Asante Kotoko to get back into the game.
First, Nicholas Mensah equalized in the 78th minute to restore parity for the hosts before Augustine Agyepong also found the back of the Samartex FC net in the 86th minute to seal a 2-1 win for his team.
The Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, H.E Sugandh Rajaram, has promised an injection of $150 million into mechanisation of Ghanaâs agriculture to maximise productivity.
He noted that the Indian government is committed to establishing mechanisation centres in all rural districts across the country where farming equipment such as tractors, combined harvesters, tillers among others will be supplied and maintained.
H.E Sugandh Rajaram disclosed this at Sefwi Anhwiaso where he paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Sefwi Anhwiaso Traditional Council and president of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II as part of his official visit to the Western North Region.
Citi Newsâ Western North correspondent, Stanley Boadi, reported that the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana also engaged with traditional rulers and other stakeholders on developmental areas of the economy where his government can assist.
According to H.E Sugandh Rajaram, the venture is to strengthen the cooperation between India and Ghana as they celebrate their 75th independence.
He added that agriculture is the major contributor to the countryâs economy, but its processes are mainly subsistence. He said his country is willing to invest 150 million dollars into the sector through mechanisation.
In his welcome address, the Paramount Chief for Sefwi Anhwiaso and president of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II expressed his profound gratitude for the visit and also seized the opportunity to table a number of areas within his traditional area where assistance is needed from the Indian government for development.
