Dr. Courage Edwards, a financial expert, believes that the government’s banking sector changes have strengthened regional banks and increased their resistance to shocks.
In an interview with GhanaWeb Business, Dr. Edwards indicated that the need for the banking sector clean-up exercise arose from the International Monetary Fund’s suggestion that the Bank of Ghana implement changes as part of IMF requirements.
“I think maybe, the Speaker does not understand the essence of the reforms that took place in the clean-up exercise because if you assess the balance sheets of local banks currently, you will clearly see that the financial health of the Ghanaian-owned banks is stronger compared to the period before the clean-up exercise was undertaken,” he told GhanaWeb Business.
“I can tell you that, most of the local banks breached several banking regulations. They had governance issues and you had a situation where loans were given to family and friends without proper documentation. Depositors’ funds were also diverted to build businesses of shareholders while some depositors were not getting back their funds from some of the financial institutions,” he added.
Dr. Edwards also recounted the country’s financial system was on the brink of total collapse before the clean-up exercise was undertaken by the Bank of Ghana.
“Poor business practices and weak capital positions of the banks and financial institutions were visibly seen and the liabilities of some local banks were more than their assets.
You also had a situation where some of the local banks were just surviving on liquidity support from the Bank of Ghana and putting depositors’ funds at risk and so I believe government rather intervened to ensure that customers do not lose their money.”
The financial analyst however said that after the clean-up, government created the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) to guarantee capital injection for five local banks.
“I believe this demonstrates government’s commitment to ensuring that the local banks are able to support economic development remain robust.”
“The central bank also indicated that the reason why most banks were able to withstand increased withdrawals and met depositors’ demand for cash in the lockdown period, was due to the fact that banks were solvent and well capitalised,” he continued.
“The remarkable resilience exhibited by the banking sector over the two-year period is attributed to the comprehensive financial sector reforms that took place before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020,” Dr. Edwards concluded.
Meanwhile, in 2017 the Bank of Ghana undertook a clean-up exercise that saw the revocation of operating licenses of some eight banks, 23 savings and loans companies and more than 400 specialised deposit-taking institutions (SDIs).
According to the Receiver for some of the financial institutions, preliminary investigations found that most directors of the defunct financial institutions failed in their fiduciary responsibilities to customers and other stakehold.
Grammy-winning singer, Adele, recently set the record straight on the actual pronunciation of her name during a recent Q&A session to celebrate her new music video ‘I Drink Wine’.
We all have been pronouncing singer Adele’s name wrong all along. The Grammy-winning singer recently set the record straight on the actual pronunciation of her name during a recent Q&A session to celebrate her new music video ‘I Drink Wine’.
While answering questions, the 34-year-old praised one particular fan for properly pronouncing her name.”Love that,” Adele raved. “She said my name perfectly!”
All these years everyone has been calling her ah-dell when it is actually uh-dale, with a slight emphasis on the second syllable.
Adele said her own name for emphasis before answering more questions to celebrate the release of her ‘I Drink Wine’ music video.
Born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins in London, the songstress achieved worldwide recognition after releasing her debut album, ’19,’ in 2008. Adele does not like to use her surname.
“I could have never used my surname,” she previously told YouTuber NikkieTutorials of how she landed on her mononym stage name. “Adele Adkins does not have the same ring as Adele.”She explained that her last name sounded “drab,” though “Adele still feels like my name” even after finding success. She added, “My mum still calls me it. My friends call me it.”
Former Black Stars head coach Charles Kwablan Akonnor has urged Ghanaians to remain positive ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The West African country will be making their fourth appearance at the World Cup after missing the previous competition held in Russia four years ago.
Ghana have been drawn in Group H alongside Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.
“Otto Addo is our coach now,” CK Akonnor told Joy Sports.
“He’s got Didi Dramani, George Boateng and Chris Hughton. These guys are very knowledgeable, they understand the game; Chris is a huge guy in the Premier League, so definitely, they will help,” he stated.
The former Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko gaffer added, “[George] Boateng, I was supposed to work with him when I was head coach so I had the chance of meeting him, in that same moment I met Chris and spoke to him.”
“When you talk to them you can clearly see you are on the field already. They know what the game is about. They will help Otto Addo, and he will do well, so we should be positive.”
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.
Kylian Mbappe conceded Paris Saint-Germain did not do enough to top their Champions League group, which Benfica topped in dramatic circumstances on Wednesday.
Goals from Mbappe and Nuno Mendes at Juventus, either side of Leonardo Bonucci’s equaliser, seemed to have Christophe Galtier’s side on course to top Group H courtesy of a 2-1 triumph.
However, Benfica scored five unanswered second-half goals at Maccabi to win 6-1, the latter of which from Joao Mario in the 92nd minute snatched top spot on away goals scored.
For the first instance in Champions League history, PSG and Benfica could not be separated by their head-to-head record, goals scored or conceded, though Mbappe suggested his side should have done more.
“During the match, we did not know, but in the end they tried to warn us” the World Cup-winning forward told RMC Sport.
“But that was the end, it doesn’t matter, we qualified. We came to do the work, that’s not enough, we’ll watch the draw and we’ll play to win.”
Galtier pinpointed PSG’s 7-2 win over Maccabi on matchday five as a warning sign and lamented the fine margins that saw his side finish second.
“When we were winning 7-2 last week, we stopped playing at the 90th minute,” he told Canal+. “We conceded too many goals during the group stage from set-pieces, as we did against Maccabi.
“If we’d conceded one goal fewer, we would have finished top of the group.”
PSG failed to top their Champions League group for a second straight season after finishing first in each of the previous four, but Galtier insisted his side have still performed well in Europe’s top competition.
“We could consider everything. We knew this possibility. Congratulations to Benfica, who scored more away goals than us,” he added.
“Afterwards, I congratulate my team and my group. We had a good group. We scored a lot of goals. That’s the history of the Champions League. This competition is sometimes irrational and we saw that.
“We had an exceptional journey. We’ve beaten Juventus twice and we were very happy until the 92nd minute.
“But if you want to go far in this competition, you have to beat big teams. Let’s wait for the draw and see who we get in the last 16.”
A 2-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in Turin saw Juve become only the second Italian side to lose five of six group stage matches in the competition, after Roma in 2004-05 – though their elimination had already been confirmed.
Juve required a victory to cement their spot in the knockout stages of the Europa League but ultimately must be thankful to Benfica for firing five second-half goals against Maccabi Haifa to prevent the Allegri’s side from exiting continental football entirely.
In the Europa League, Juve will be considered to be among the favourites to go all the way and Allegri has urged his side to use their anger to propel them to better results in UEFA’s second-tier club competition.
“We played a good game, it’s a shame about the result,” he told reporters after the defeat.
“We are in the Europa League, from tomorrow we must turn the page for the championship. We must be angry and immediately resume work and walk.
“On one hand there is reason to be satisfied to have reached the Europa League, on the other hand there is anger for the elimination from the Champions League.
“I’m still very angry and we have to carry this anger inside us in the next games in Europe.”
One positive from the defeat to PSG was the return of Federico Chiesa from injury, who had not featured since January, though his recovery will not be rushed.
“He has a lot of desire, he must be managed until the World Cup. We have to take time to have him in the best condition in January,” Allegri added.
Jurgen Klopp believes it is unfair to expect players to engage in political protests at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
The decision to host the tournament in Qatar – where male homosexuality is illegal – has long been criticised due to concerns about the country’s human rights record.
England’s Harry Kane will be among eight European captains to wear a distinctive heart-adorned armband at the tournament, in order to raise awareness of the OneLove campaign against discrimination.
Meanwhile, tennis great Billie Jean King has called on players to act as “influencers” in Qatar, but Klopp believes handing down that level of responsibility is unjust.
“I understand 100 per cent that we talk about it,” Liverpool manager Klopp told Sky News after receiving the Freedom of the City on Wednesday.
“But it’s not fair to talk now to the players and give responsibility to them, because it’s more than 10 years ago that other people decided [to host the World Cup in Qatar], and we all accepted the decision.
“I watched documentaries recently about the election of Russia [in 2018] and Qatar, so it’s not about this generation of players to say now that ‘we don’t go’ or ‘we don’t do that’.
We are uniting with nine other European countries in support of OneLove, a campaign that will use the power of football to promote inclusion and send a message against discrimination.
“These are the players. The tournament is in Qatar. The players go there and play the game.
“The decision was made by other people and if you want to criticise anybody, then criticise the people who made the decision. Not the sport, not the competition and for sure, not the players.
“It’s not fair that we expect from them that they go there and make big political statements or whatever. It’s just not fair.”
Klopp did offer his support when asked about the OneLove campaign, but reiterated his belief players should not be expected to protest the initial decision to stage the tournament in Qatar.
He said: “That’s absolutely fine, but what I don’t like is that we expect them [the players] to do something. They go there to play football. The big tournament was organised and planned by other people.”
Last week, Australia’s players launched a campaign to highlight World Cup host Qatar’s human rights record.
Ghana striker Inaki Williams has a new record at Athletic Bilbao by surpassing Oscar de Marcos as Athletic Bilbao player with most minutes in 12 league games this season.
Williams has accumulated 981 minutes for the club and was on target in their 1-0 win over Villarreal 1-0 in La Liga over the weekend.
The goal was his 5th this season as he continued his impressive goal scoring form this season.
The win lifted the club to 6th on the league table with 21 points, two points behind four-placed Real Betis.
Williams displayed a willingness to win the game as he made runs into the half of the opponent to cause all sorts of trouble.
Although Athletic Bilbao will create several chances in the first half, the team could not score and had to settle for a draw at halftime.
In the 59th minute of the second half, Inaki Williams won the game for his team when he scored with a fantastic effort.
Though there were other chances for the two teams, later on, there were no other goals, leaving Athletic Bilbao to grab the maximum three points at full time.
He was adjudged Man of the Match after the game.
Williams has now scored five goals and provided one assist in 12 league appearances for Athletic Bilbao this season.
He is expected named in Ghana’s squad for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
A much-changed City team initially fell behind to Rafa Mir’s header in their final Group G fixture, but at the age of 17 years and 346 days old, Lewis hammered home to beat Karim Benzema’s 2005 record and level the scores.
Lewis’ effort kick-started a City comeback, as Julian Alvarez put Guardiola’s team in the ascendancy before teeing up Riyad Mahrez to complete the scoring late on.
Speaking to BT Sport after the victory, Guardiola credited Lewis for his intelligence and said City’s win showed the future is bright at the Etihad Stadium.
“What a goal, he’s a fantastic player. He’s so intelligent,” Guardiola said of the right-back. “Apart from the skills, he’s so intelligent, so clever.
“He understands everything. He made a fantastic goal, high past the goalkeeper, and played really well.
“We have a young squad, we have some older players but it’s a young squad. Julian is young but top-class, and Rico, and of course, Sergio [Gomez].
“They played in the Champions League against Sevilla, an experienced team, and for prestige, money, everything, it was important.”
Lewis’ goal came on the day he became just the fifth Englishman to start a Champions League game before turning 18, after Jack Wilshere, Josh McEachran, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham.
His strong all-round performance also earned him praise from City defender Ruben Dias, who told BT Sport: “He’s an enormous talent. He’s been with us a long time.
“For him to get the opportunity of playing practically the full game and to score, you can see his quality. Brilliant things from him, he just needs to keep working.
“At this club it doesn’t matter if it’s a friendly, the Champions League final, or a game in the groups with everything done. We need to push each other, the same as in training.
“It was one of those games, everything is settled in the group, it’s a game in which you need to perform because the rhythm is going with non-stop games.”
Manchester Unitedneed to beat Real Sociedad by two goals or more to be confirmed as Europa League Group E winners on Thursday.
Erik ten Hag’s side are currently second in the group and take on the leaders in San Sebastian knowing at least a two-goal winning margin would see them finish top to seal a last-16 place and avoid taking part in the knockout round play-offs.
It would also secure revenge for their only defeat in the competition so far, a 1-0 Old Trafford success for the LaLiga club back in September that set Sociedad on their way to an impressive five-game winning streak in the group.
La Real are therefore in the driving seat to seal top spot and a place in the last 16, but it is far from an impossible task for the visitors to get the result they require, considering Imanol Alguacil’s side come into the crucial tie on the back of a 2-0 home league defeat to Real Betis, while they also have mounting injury problems.
Team news
Sociedad have Mohamed-Ali Cho, Mikel Oyarzabal, Umar Sadiq, Ander Martin, David Silva, Ander Barrenetxea, Aihen Munoz and Takefusa Kubo all ruled out, while Alex Sola is rated as a major injury doubt.
Alexander Sorloth is expected to start up front, while Igor Zubeldia and Ander Guevara are pushing for a place in the XI.
Raphael Varane, Axel Tuanzebe and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are unavailable for United, but Victor Lindelof has recovered from illness and Anthony Martial has also recently returned to training following a back injury.
Antony and Jadon Sancho did not train on Wednesday morning so they are both rated as doubts.
The stats
Real Sociedad have won all five of their group games so far, scoring 10 goals and conceding just once.
United responded to the opening home defeat against Thursday’s opponents by beating the two weaker teams in the group, Omonia Nicosia and FC Sheriff, home and away.
Sociedad have lost their last two LaLiga games, going down 1-0 at Real Valladolid before the 2-0 home reverse against Betis last Sunday.
La Real are fifth in the Spanish top flight, 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid, with seven wins, one draw and four defeats on the board after 12 games played.
United are unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions, winning six of them, and sit fifth in the Premier League, eight points adrift of Arsenal in top spot.
The Red Devils go to the Basque Country having scored in each of their last 12 Europa League matches away from home since October 2019, and they ran out 4-0 aggregate winners against Sociedad in the Europa League last-32 stage back in February 2021.
Prediction
Marcus Rashford has rediscovered his best form for Manchester United of late
Sociedad have beaten Omonia and Sheriff at home so far but taking on an in-form United with injuries of their own to contend with is a much tougher prospect.
Ten Hag’s United side have only conceded two goals in their last seven matches and will approach the tie with plenty of confidence that they can get the job done going forward, while also continuing to keep things tight defensively.
Marcus Rashford appears to be back close to his best again, with two goals in his last two games, while Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Antony, if he is passed fit, and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the other goal threats who could be vital on Matchday 6.
According to her, the projects were privately conceived and funded, contrary to speculations that it was from a government contract.
She described the persons behind the allegation as “shameless”
In a response, Ms Akufo-Addostated that the Creative Arts Agency, which she heads, solely conceived, managed, and financially undertook the projects through its own fundraising activities.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, it is important to state that these projects were solely conceived, managed, and financially undertaken by The Creative Arts Agency, through its own fundraising activities.”
“It is a complete fabrication being propagated by some shameless persons, and which, unfortunately, has been published by sections of the media.
“This project was not embarked upon to make profit, and there have been no lucrative contracts awarded for it,” she said in a press statement issued on Wednesday.
There have been allegations that Gyankroma Akufo-Addo had been paid US$25 million to paint parts of the capital city.
In her denial, Gyankroma Akufo-Addostressed “I have instructed my lawyer to seek redress in the law courts against persons and media houses that published these falsehoods with the sole intention of destroying my reputation.”
Below is the full statement by Gyankoma Akufo-Addo:
CREATIVE ARTS AGENCY
In August 2018, Art for All was conceived. Its purpose was to beautify our capital city of Accra, to give a platform to our Ghanaian artists, to build art appreciation for its audience, and to serve as beautiful backdrops for videos, or photoshoots and be a tourist attraction.
Each site had a six-week workshop process to identify themes, locations, and artists. Each site was paid for with funds largely from the private sector, sourced solely by the Creative Arts Agency. No contract to paint a succession of bridges or underpasses has either been conceived, has ever been offered, or has ever been accepted. Indeed, any tender or contract awarded for such a project would have been made public.
For the avoidance of any doubt, it is important to state that these projects were solely conceived, managed, and financially undertaken by The Creative Arts Agency, through its own fundraising activities.
Site 1, Ako Adjei, was funded by the private sector.
Site 2, Tetteh Quarshie, was paid for by myself, Gyankroma Akufo-Addo.
Site 3, was completed through the generosity of the creatively minded Ben Asante, CEO of Ghana Gas, who understands its social community importance.
The paint used for each site, again, was provided by Coral Paints and its CEO, who understand the importance of pushing the visibility of Ghanaian artists. The absurdity of $25 million, or any amount for that matter, being awarded to myself to undertake this project is a disgusting narrative.
It is a complete fabrication being propagated by some shameless persons, and which, unfortunately, has been published by sections of the media. This project was not embarked upon to make a profit, and there have been no lucrative contracts awarded for it.
All efforts to undermine my credibility through the publication of these falsehoods and baseless lies will not wash. I have instructed my lawyer to seek redress in the law courts against persons and media houses that published these falsehoods with the sole intention of destroying my reputation.
Playwright Kobina Ansah has hinted in a social media post that aside from his new play, Once Upon A Riddle, being the most difficult play he has ever worked on, he wrote 14 new songs to be performed for the first time during the musical set to be staged this December. He noted that he had been working on the story since 2020 when the nation was locked down due to covid-19.
He explained, “I wanted to tell a usual story unusually and it did not come on a silver platter. I shelved it for months and came back to it intermittently as and when a crazy idea crawled into my mind.”
He continued, “Now, this was the most difficult part ~ writing original songs to aid in the storytelling. In times past, I had refixed known songs to help in telling my stories. This time, I decided to challenge myself. I wanted to write something no one had heard before and… boy… it was difficult! It was a real test of my songwriting skills! Thankfully, in #OnceUponARiddle, we are doing 14 original songs ~ from dancehall to drill songs. Yes, you read right!”
Kobina Ansah has carved an enviable niche for himself in the Ghanaian theatre space. His play, THE BOY CALLED A GIRL, daringly touched on homosexuality. With about seven plays to his credit, his new play, ONCE UPON A RIDDLE, shows on Saturday, 10 December 2022 at National Theatre.
On October 31, news broke of the sudden demise of David Ifeanyi Adedeji Adeleke Jr who reportedly drowned in his father’s swimming pool at his Banana Island residence.
Messages of condolences have poured out to the bereaved family from friends, family, fans and colleagues in the music industry including Ghana’s Stonebwoy and Sarkodie.
As a parent this hits different …sorry brother @davido May the almighty grant you the strength to go through this ❤️ Stay strong . We pray for your family pic.twitter.com/kzyvCsB3aI
On November 2, Sarkodie took to his Twitter page to console Davido and also offer special prayers for him in these trying times.
“As a parent this hits different …sorry brother @davido. May the almighty grant you the strength to go through this Stay strong. We pray for your family,’ read the tweet sighted by GhanaWeb.
Meanwhile, the family of little Ifeanyi are yet to release an official statement to confirm their tragic loss.
According to reports, some workers at his residence including his deceased son’s nanny and cook have been arrested by the police to assist with investigations.
Members of Parliament (MPs) on Wednesday took turns to hail the role of journalists in nation building.
Mr Akwasi Konadu, the MP for Manhyia North, who presented a statement on the floor of the House to mark “International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists”, entreated the House to help in any way possible to ensure that media practitioners go about their duties without fear or favour.
This, he said, could be achieved by ensuring the safety and security of media practitioners and giving them all the necessary support to do their jobs.
He urged the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) not to relent in its pursuit of justice for all journalists who had suffered any form of injustice in their line of duties.
He also appealed to the Police to ensure that the killers of Mr Ahmed Hussein-Suale, an investigative journalist and Mr Samuel Kwanena Ennin, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GJA, were brought to book.
“Parliament, we also want to assure all media practitioners that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them,” Mr Konadu said.
The United Nations General Assembly in 2013 set aside November 2, as the “International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists” to condemn attacks and violence against journalists.
Contributing to the presentation, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Leader, said the National Media Commission that was charged to regulate the conduct of media practitioners captured under Article 167 of the 1992 Constitution was to promote and ensure the freedom and independence of the media for mass communication or information.
To take all appropriate measures to ensure the establishment and maintenance of the highest journalistic standards in the mass media, including the investigation, mediation and settlement of complaints made against or by the press or other mass media and to insulate the state-owned media from governmental control.
“Mr, Speaker, the Media Commission, regardless of their intention, they are toothless in trying to call media practitioners who to astray to order,” Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said.
“Mr Speaker, we need the media, but the media should not otherwise assume positions that are abhorrent to our society.”
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minority Leader, said the Day provided journalists an opportunity to evaluate their own performance and to their contributions to Ghana’s functional democracy.
He lauded the contributions of journalists in their collective efforts for Ghana to attain the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“But Mr Speaker, as reported by the UN Secretary General, some 70 journalists have been killed this year in the course of their work and in the course of their duty of contributing to a more enlightening world,” Mr Iddrisu stated.
He said they were demanding Justice for the killing of Ahmed Husein-Suale and urged nvestigative or prosecutorial body handing the matter to discharge the responsibility with some credibility to give assurance to practicing journalists that they would not just wither away their lives in their services without support or compensation for their family.
“It is important that we celebrate and commend the Ghana Journalists Association and to urge them, what we need is the commitment of Government to continue to respect those freedoms,” he said.
He said Ghana still needed a new broadcasting law to regulate broadcasting generally.
Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, the MP for Abuakwa South, in his submission, said, as a legal practitioner, he had had to represent some people in the courts of law, who were defamed by certain media publications.
He noted that when someone’s hard won reputation was defamed through the publication of the journalist, it was difficult repairing, especially when it was carried on the internet.
“In trying to fly your story to make some money, be careful of the reputation of others, because money cannot buy the reputation of someone,” Mr Atta Akyea said.
Dr Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, MP for Wa Central, urged Ghanaians to hold journalists in high esteem and not to look at them with disrespect.
He said Ghana was seen as an oasis of peace in the subregion, and that Ghanaians should ensure to handle journalists with pride; saying that journalists would be comfortable in doing their jobs, and that Ghana could be a source of inspiration for other nations.
Mr Harold Adlai Agyeman, President of the United Nations Security Council for the month of November and Permanent Representative of Ghana to the UN, has held a meeting with Madam Veronica Macamo, Foreign Minister of Mozambique.
A statement issued by the Ghana Permanent Mission to the UN and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the meeting, which took place in New York focused on Mozambique’s preparations towards assuming membership of the Council from January 2023.
Mr Agyeman used the opportunity to share Ghana’s experiences and outlined best practices that Ghana had explored since joining the Council.
The Obuasi Municipal Assembly has embarked on a week-long decongestion exercise in Obuasi as part of efforts to beautify and keep the city clean and safe.
The exercise, which sought to rid the municipality of unauthorised structures, have seen many structures pulled down under the supervision of the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Elisha Adansi Bonah.
Traders, who sold on the streets, were also removed to improve traffic flow, especially in the Central Market area with the support of the Police.
Other areas that were affected by the exercise were Gauso Mangoase, Bidiem and Kokoteasua, where illegal permanent structures were also demolished.
At the onset of the exercise, temporal structures that were mounted along the Obuasi Technical Senior High School fence wall and served as safe abodes for criminals that occasionally attack students were demolished.
The illegal structures also aided some students to scale over the school wall to town without using the approved exit gates.
Mr Adansi Bonah said the exercise was informed by the Assembly’s determination to ensure sanity in Obuasi while protecting lives from the dangers associated with selling at unapproved places in the Central Business District.
“As an Assembly we cannot continue to allow people to take the laws into their own hands, build structures and even sell on the road. We believe after the exercise, Obuasi will regain its bragging right as the cleanest city in Ghana,” he told the media.
He said the Assembly gave prior notice for people to remove the affected structures, but they did not heed to the numerous warnings.
The MCE said the Assembly was committed to allowing businesses to thrive, but not at the detriment of the safety of the public.
“This will be a continuous exercise and we are going for a court order which will empower the Assembly to serve notices to those who have built their structures without obtaining permit from the Assembly,” he cautioned.
Mr David Agyei, the Municipal Works Engineer, bemoaned the level of lawlessness in the society, saying that it was unacceptable for people to build without applying for permit from the assembly.
He said that practice if not checked, would lead to impunity and the consequences could be disastrous.
He, however, served notice to owners of unauthorised structures yet to be demolished to take steps to salvage whatever they could because the Assembly was poised to bring down all such structures.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has shared his experiences with participants at the African Youth Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The former President in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency said he shared his thoughts on Pan Africanism and how they could address the challenges the continent and, especially African youth continue to face in their efforts to realize a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa.
The Africa Prospective Leaders’ Summit 2022 brought together youth from 42 African Countries, including Ghana.
Former President Mahama expressed gratitude to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the Government and People of Ethiopia for the consideration, the initiative and funding of the maiden edition of the Summit.
He said bringing the youth of the continent together, as had been done, to share experiences and whatever best practices they bring along from their individual countries was a very good start.
“It also provides them with a great networking opportunity – something the continent needs in the quest to enhance the capacity and skills of our youth to utilize its untapped potential,” Mr Mahama said.
He noted that African should aim for a take-off to rapid growth, a double-digit growth, and Africa’s breakthrough would be nearer.
“We are talking smart infrastructure, we are discussing the use of smart technology on our farms, we are looking at how to build an effective digital economy that provides huge opportunities for entrepreneurship and businesses that serve the world from Africa,” Mr Mahama said.
“With young people that have the right skills set, we should be moving to achieve that.”
The former President said he was looking forward to all the countries on the African continent allowing for visa-free entry by fellow Africans or an easier visa-on-arrival. process; declaring that “I started it in Ghana in 2016, Rwanda followed suit, later, Kenya, and I think we can all do it.”
That way, he said, the benefits of the networking African youth were exposed to, could be enhanced with reciprocal visits to each other.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority Caucus in Parliament has urged President Akufo-Addo to do something about the petroleum price hikes in order to cushion the ordinary Ghanaian from the global economic hardship.
Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, speaking at a press conference at Parliament House in Accra, appealed to the Government to help mitigate the economic hardship facing Ghanaians by taking measures to address the petroleum price hikes.
He said one would have thought that following the national address by the President, things would begin to calm down “It is sad, it is really, really sad to note that fuel price today is going through the roofs”.
“The ordinary Ghanaian is suffering, workers are suffering, teachers are suffering, MPs are suffering, evening the man on the street is suffering. You journalists, you are even suffering the more because you have to be moving up and down to cover stories. It is sad. It is very, very sad,” Mr Jinapor said.
He alleged “But even more importantly, I wish to place on record that this government is making so much money from the Ukraine-Russian war.”
He said in the 2022 budget, Government projected that it would receive a total amount of about six billion Ghana Cedis for the whole of 2022.
“That was what was projected. Today, as we speak, from the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) Report, in less than three months, even the price stabilisation and recovery levy which is supposed to subsidize fuel, government projected that in the first two quarters it would receive 269 million Ghana Cedis, as we speak from the Ministry of Finance’s own record, Government has received about 800 million Ghana Cedis,” he said.
He reiterated that the notion that Government was not making revenue was a fallacy; adding that “It is a complete falsehood. Government is making so much money from our petroleum resources.”
He called call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Minister of Finance to do something about this price increments.
He urged the government to apply the alleged huge supernatural profit to cushion the ordinary Ghanaian.
Mr Jinapor, who is also the Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu, said “I feel very sad as a Member of Parliament, when on a daily basis, I receive calls from my members in the constituency, who cannot even afford one square meal a day”.
“People cannot even send their kids to school because of the exorbitant fuel prices, which is having cascading effect on food prices and the general cost of living. We hold the view that Government can do something about the fuel price increment.” Mr Jinapor said.
He suggested that the Tema Oil Refinery as a matter of urgency with immediate effect, should process Ghana’s domestic crude (oil), that could give Ghanaians about 45 thousand barrels of processed crude every day.
The Sissala East Municipal Assembly has put in place a Revenue Improvement Action Plan (RIAP) to shore up the Assembly’s poor performance in revenue mobilization.
The Assembly has noted that the RIAP formed part of measures to provide more effective strategies and guidelines to generate and meet revenue targets set for the coming years.
Mr Bukari Basi, the Sissala East Municipal Budget Analyst, announced this at a Composite Budget hearing meeting organised by the Assembly with some stakeholders in Tumu.
The purpose of the hearing was toengage the stakeholders to assist in reviewing the assembly’s budget performance and discuss priority programmes and projects to be undertaken in the coming 2023 fiscal year.
Mr Basi, in a presentation, said apart from grants and aids from the central government and donations and grants from development partners, the Assembly had a challenge in generating revenue through its IGF.
He said the assembly was likely not to meet its IGF target again for the 2022 fiscal year, saying, “The assembly’s target of GH₵990,000.00 may not be met as only GH₵381,082.56 was generated as of August and therefore likely to repeat the same target for the period 2023”.
He said measures including the training of more revenue collectors would help shore up revenue mobilization for the assembly to be able to carry out its set initiatives.
Mr Fuseini Batong Hor, the Sissalla East Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), said citizens’ participation was crucial in the drawing of the assembly’s composite budget pursuant to Sections 40 and 42 (c) of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), under the “Participation in District Assembly processes” and “Modalities and Platforms for Participation.”
He called for citizens’ participation and contributions in revenue mobilization, adding that it was needed in shaping the plans of the assembly for the future.
The assembly, he indicated, had constructed and completed two 3-unit classroom blocks at Gbanabisi, and Tumu Midwifery, and drilled two boreholes at Gwosi Upper and Nanchala.
The assembly also reshaped the Pina -Tanla-Nitalo feeder road and established a 10,000 cashew seedlings plantation.
Some representatives of Persons Living with Disability (PWDs) at the meeting raised concerns over the assembly’s failure to construct the proposed disability centre as indicated in the last budget.
The PWDs were made to understand that the Assembly faced some challenges in receiving its Common fund but assured that the disability centre, morgue and the other projects would be rolled over to the year 2023 fiscal year.
Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Yoofi Grant, said billion-dollar opportunities exist in the green and circular economy in Africa alone.
He has, therefore, advised young entrepreneurs to embrace it to reap the enormous benefits to grow their businesses.
Delivering a keynote address at the third edition of the GrEEn Investment Forum in Kumasi, Mr. Grant entreated young entrepreneurs to endeavour to factor green and circular economy into their business module strategies.
With funding from the European Union (EU), the GrEEn Investment Forum was organised by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) and targeted investors in Ghana and abroad, as well as key business stakeholders and green businesses in the Ashanti Region.
The event, which was held on the theme: “Pathway to Promoting Investment Opportunities in the Green and Circular Economy,” was part of the GrEEn Project’s objective of promoting sustainable development and growth of green Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the local level.
The overall goal of the forum was to highlight economic opportunities in the green and circular economy in the region and explore workable solutions to the challenges that limit investments in the green economy.
Mr Grant said youth empowerment in Africa would be the fulcrum of the economy of the continent going forward since youth constituted about 60 per cent of the population in Africa.
“Even in creating new policies, youth engagement is critical to ensure that they are engaged at both the policy and implementation stages because whatever we talk about today is for the benefit of the youth,” he stated.
He said the youth could positively contribute to global efforts to combat climate change in line with the Sustainable Development Goals through behavioural change.
The importance of the youth adopting SDG compliant businesses, he noted, was very critical to the sustainable growth of the economy, stressing the need for the youth to be part of the conversation of funding for SMEs because most of the emerging SMEs were owned by people in the youth bracket.
He implored the youth to take advantage of the numerous youth-focused policies introduced by the Government to establish and grow their own businesses.
Mr Laouali Sadda, Manager of the GrEEn Project, said the forum provided a platform for experts and experienced personalities in the SME eco-system to help discuss and provide solutions to challenges confronting the sector.
He said the three-day event also comprised presentations, panel discussions, pitch sessions and an exhibition aimed at improving the awareness of economic opportunities in Ghana’s green and circular economy.
It also sought to increase the understanding of the investment landscape for green entrepreneurs in Ghana.
Ms. Genevieve Parker-Twum, Senior Incubation and Acceleration Advisor of the GrEEn Project, said over 100 businesses had been incubated and supported to streamline their businesses under the project.
Panelists discussing female entrepreneurship have asked the Government to put women-led businesses at the centre of solutions to the current economic hardship.
They said the time had come for Ghana and other African countries to be intentional about addressing the barriers that impeded the business operations and growth of women-led businesses, especially those in the agriculture value chain.
They said this during a panel discussion at the launch of a study that assessed the potential of women-led Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
They noted that supporting women-led enterprises would not only help speed up Ghana’s economic recovery and transformation agenda, but make the economy resilient against future economic shocks.
The survey research report launched in Accra by CUTS International was prepared by the Aya Institute for Women, Politics and Media, with support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
Professor Alufar Bokpin, an Economist and professor of Finance, said the time required that women-led businesses were given the platform and requisite financial support to turn things around.
He said: “It is in hard times like these that we see the patience, endurance, entrepreneurial and innovative skills of women at home and in the office and in managing businesses, so, let’s promote women-led businesses.”
“If we will be mindful to use the limited fiscal space that will be created as we go through reforms in enabling women-led businesses and traders, I am very sure will come out of this crisis stronger,” he added.
The professor of Finance called for administrative reforms that would make women-led businesses “truly lead the country’s quest for solutions to the current difficulties”.
Mrs Fatima Ali Mohamed, the Chairperson of Women in Agribusiness, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), called for a shift in the consumption attitude of Ghanaians and Africans.
“The problem is that we’re producing what we don’t eat, then we import what we eat. We import over 950,000 tonnes of rice and eat rice in the morning, lunch and dinner, but we don’t grow enough rice,” she lamented.
“Let’s stop talking flowery and get to the real problem. Let’s get our leaders to move away from this ‘what’s in it for me syndrome’. We need to lift our people and it’s high time we did it,” the AGI Women in Agribusiness Chairperson said.
Mrs Agnes Gifty Adjei-Sam, the Director of Market Development and Promotion at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), called for tax incentives and easy access to funds for women-led businesses.
Madam Kakazi Kacyira, a Project Assistant at the AfCFTA Secretariat, said a protocol would be ready next year to support women and youth-led businesses to capitalise on the opportunities of the free trade.
“The protocol is to make legally binding commitments as to how women can benefit from the trade agreement and the second is to deal more with informal cross-border traders by formalising the sector,” she said.
Mr Appiah Kusi Adomako, the West African Regional Director for CUTS International, said the dialogue was important because of the role women played, particularly in the informal sector.
He said there was a lot to be done to support women-led businesses to increase trade, especially on the African continent and noted that they would be organising a series of dialogues to accentuate and escalate the issues to policymakers.
Deputy Commissioner of Insurance, at the National Insurance Commission (NIC), Mr Kofi Andoh, says it is building a regulatory framework to ensure active annuities market.
Annuities are a range of insurance products that provide decent periodic payments for retirees.
He explained that the market was relatively new and that NIC and stakeholders to ensure that insurance companies had the relevant requirements, competencies and capacities to protect customers.
Mr Andoh, who was speaking at the launch of an annuity campaign in Accra, said NIC was developing models and governance, including investment and fund management to ensure an active and buoyant market.
The public awareness campaign is a joint initiative of the NIC and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH aimed at sensitising about the importance of annuities as a tool for financial independence during retirement.
Already, five life insurance companies had been given the clearance to start selling products that have met the requirement.
The campaign objectives will be achieved through the use of television, radio, social media, and public engagement outreaches.
Mr Andoh said the laws of Ghana currently permitted only the sales of immediate annuities, a financial plan that allows people to make one lump-sum contribution, and converted into an ongoing, guaranteed stream of income for a specified period of time.
Mr. Kofi Andoh, stated that “the benefits associated with annuities cannot be overemphasized: financial security, liquidity, guaranteed lifetime income supply, maintenance of lifestyle, and ability to cope with unforeseen and unplanned expenses, to name a few”.
He said a recent study showed that a comfortable retirement could only be realised based on how much they earned, how their families were planned, and how they prepared for retirement amongst others.
He said the study found that most of the pensioners complained of receiving low pensions, which could not support their lifestyle and most of them either lived in either uncompleted buildings or were still renting.
Mr Detlev Axel Jahn, the Head of the Programme for Sustainable Economic Development at GIZ-Ghana, said, in 2020, the NIC conducted trainings for the life insurance industry in the design and pricing of annuity products which birthed five products that had been approved by the NIC and introduced to the market.
“With the insurance industry’s increased interest in developing annuities and a promising insuring market, the insurance industry is now more than ever, ripe for raising awareness of liquidity risks faced by people during retirement,” he said.
Mr Jahn said although there was conflicting information about annuities, the campaign would help debunk all the myths associated with Annuities and educate Ghanaians on the need to adopt Annuities as a viable financial tool for retirement planning.
A Pittsburgh-based robotics and engineering startup recently unveiled Moonwalkers, a pairof battery-powered shoes that it claims can boost walk speeds by up to 250%.
At first glance, Moonwalkers look like a pair of futuristic rollerskates, but there is actually a lot more to them than that. You’re actually meant to walk with them the way you would regular shoes or sneakers, letting the motorized wheels put a spring in your step.
Powered by a state-of-the-art brushless DC motor, this ingenious contraption is actually a platform that can be attached to a wide variety of footwear to significantly increase your walking speed up to a reported 7mph/11kph. For comparison, humans’ average walking speed ranges from 2.5 to 4 mph.
The sensation of walking with the world’s fastest shoes has been compared to that of walking on a ‘moving walkway’ in an airport.
Designed by Shift Robotics, an offshoot of Carnegie Mellon University, Moonwalkers consist of a 300W brushless motor in each 4.2-lb (1.9-kg) shoe that powers eight polyurethane wheels. There is also an AI-powered gearbox that increases or decreases speed according to data regarding the wearer’s walk collected by a series of sensors. The shoes are also able to detect downhill movement to prevent accidents.
“Moonwalkers are not skates. They’re shoes. The world’s fastest shoes actually,” Xunjie Zang, founder and CEO of Shift Robotics said. “You don’t skate in them. You walk. You don’t have to learn how to use them, the shoes learn from you.”
But do the world’s fastest shoes work on uneven terrain, or things like stairs? We all know how tricky those are to mitigate in rollerskates. Well, apparently the designers took that into consideration and implemented a simple gesture that allows the wearer to lock the wheels so that they can walk up or down stairs as they would in regular footwear.
Moonwalkers were recently unveiled as part of a Kickstarer campaign that has already reached almost double its crowdfunding goal of $90,000. The first batch is expected to ship in March of 2023, at a retail price of $1,399. That’s not cheap, but then again, this isn’t your average pair of shoes, it’s the world’s fastest pair of shoes.
Some residents in the Cape Coast Metropolis have called on the Government to be tactful with its expenditure and invest in productive ventures to spur economic growth.
Speaking in separate interviews with the Ghana News Agency, the residents said the Government’s move to halt the depreciation of the Cedi should work at all costs.
Mrs. Gladys Baidoo, a banker, said the country’s prudent management of scarce economic resources through technology remained the ultimate goal to save it from the difficulties.
“It is, therefore, important for government to improve its financial management and budgeting practices to create the environment which could support the possibility for prudent and sustainable borrowing for public infrastructure and services at the local level,” she stated.
In addition, she praised efforts to support Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to step up their revenue mobilization to improve development at the local level and reduce their dependence on the central government.
“The huge potential in property rate collection remains untapped. There are many property owners who are yet to pay any rate to the Assemblies because the Assemblies have not yet approached them to collect the rates.
“The MMDAs must, therefore, find innovative ways of mobilizing resources in an equitable and efficient manner,” she urged.
Mr. Jones Kofi Darko, an entrepreneur, also commended the President for the resolve to ban the imports of some goods that could be produced locally to revive the local industrial sector.
He said a country’s development, depended on its level of industrialization, however, any nation that neglected that sector will be a burden to itself and its people, as it will have to depend on the importation of all kinds of goods at great cost to meet the needs of its populace.
It was for this reason, he noted, that in the immediate post-independence period, Ghana set out to build some industries for rapid development.
As a result of the resolve to speed up the country’s progress, the Tema industrial township was built, in addition to the creation of industrial enclaves in Accra and many parts of the country.
Many private individuals and companies also set up industries which provided hope for the future of the new independent country which was the envy of many a country on the continent and beyond.
Nevertheless, decades down the line, however, many of the manufacturing establishments, that provided the youth with job opportunities everywhere, have become “ghosts” and trading activities have taken over, defeating the country’s attempts at import substitution.
On the country’s negotiation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. Daniel Danso, an educationist, said the whole of Ghana seemed to be waiting for the ‘presumed saviour IMF’ that has not been able to save us on its 16 previous occasions.
“The Government opting for an IMF programme will not address the current difficulties but would rather worsen them.
“The impact of the IMF programme would be worse than the reliefs the country would be seeking,” he said.
Mr. David Annan, a driver, asked President Akufo-Addo to redeem his promise to transform Ghana in 18 months if voted.
“Yes, he promised to turn around the fortunes of Ghana and create opportunities for all and he charged all of us to be citizens and not spectators.
“A significant number of us citizens associated the promises with good and noble intentions in return and despite our best efforts, the Ghanaian people have offered the NPP a clear mandate in 2017 to steer the affairs of our dear country but with nothing to show for,” he said.
The leadership of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and the family of late Alfred Benjamin Crentsil (A.B. Crentsil) have paid a courtesy call on Ex-president John Agyekum Kufuor.
The group led by Mr. Bessa Simon, MUSIGA President, were at the residence of the Former President to officially inform him of the death and funeral arrangements of A.B. Crenstil.
The former President, who warmly received them, consoled the family and gave the assurance that he would support them to give the legendary musician a befitting burial.
The family, on their part, appreciated the kind gesture and announced the burial date and arrangement to the former President.
Meanwhile, A B Crenstil is expected to be buried privately on Saturday, November 5, 2022, after the performance of final funeral rites at the Community eight number Two JSS Park in Tema.
A.B. Crentsil, who is known both locally and internationally, was born on January 15, 1943, at Prestea in the then Western Region, and had his formal elementary school education at the Bedu Addo Methodist Primary and Rev. Cleveland Middle Schools.
After his middle school education, he was apprenticed as an electrician, following in the footsteps of his father.
He, however, abandoned the training and channeled all his energies toward his interest in music and pursued it as a career.
He mastered the rudiments of guitar playing and readied himself to play in live bands, with a profound gift for music composition and vocals.
A.B. Crenstil joined his first band, ‘Strollers Dance Band’ which was based in Takoradi in 1968 and subsequently played in other bands such as ‘Lantics’ in Takoradi and ‘El Dorados’ at Aboso.
He was a founding member of the ‘Sweet Talks Band,’ which was based at the ‘Talk Of The Town Hotel’ in Tema Community two, alongside seasoned musicians such as Mr. Smart Nkansah, the late Jewel Ackah, and Pope Flynn.
He formed his own band the ‘Ahenfo Band’ in 1982 and has 25 albums to his credit, with some of his hit songs being ‘Papa Samo’, ‘Landlord Abodwese’, ‘Devil’, and ‘Osokoo’.
Mr Crentsil, who worshiped with the Bethel Methodist Church at Tema Community eight for 52 years, left behind a wife, and eight children.
Maternal deaths have declined significantly in the Upper East Region within the first 10-months of 2022.
At the end of October 2022, the region recorded 22 deaths, compared to the 39 deaths recorded within the same period in 2021 and 42 deaths in the whole of 2021.
This is attributed to the many interventions being rolled out at the regional, district and community levels by the authorities of the Ghana Health Service and partners in the region.
Dr Josephat Nyuzaghl, the Deputy Regional Director, Ghana Health Service in charge of Public Health, announced this in Bolgatanga at the launch of a STAR-Ghana Gender Rights and Empowerment Project (G-REP) organised by the Rural Initiatives for Self-Empowerment (RISE-Ghana), a Non- Governmental Organisation.
The three-year project with funding support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is aimed at strengthening health committees and citizens groups to champion access to quality maternal health in the Talensi and Nabdam Districts.
Dr Nyuzaghl underscored the need for collective and sustained efforts from all stakeholders to consolidate the gains made in reducing maternal deaths.
He, however, said the Eastern corridor of the region, comprising the Bawku enclave had in recent years recorded high maternal deaths and noted that lack of district hospitals to serve as referral facilities and other critical health professionals contributed to that effect.
He expressed the hope that government’s agenda 111 and the move by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council to task all the Municipal and Districts in the region to take measures to attract medical doctors to their respective areas would contribute to address the problem and improve upon maternal and child health.
“Last year, more than 50 per cent of the deaths came from Bawku, Pusiga, Tempane, Garu, Binduri and Zebilla enclave but a lot of work has gone on at the community level to try to encourage them to report early for antenatal care and get the minimum package for pregnant women,” he added.
Mr Awal Ahmed Kariama, the Executive Director, RISE-Ghana, said apart from the country’s agenda of achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals called for the need to prioritise and improve healthcare delivery systems, especially at the health facility level for improved maternal health.
To this end, he said, the project sought to mobilise women, girls and citizen groups, including civil society organisations and the media to champion issues of maternal health financing and policy implementation to ensure that the service provided at the healthcare facilities were quality and accessible.
He said as part of the project, the facility health committees in 14 sub-districts and health facilities in the two districts would be strengthened to use the scorecard to help them develop action plans.
“We want to further use these action plans to influence the budget and plans of the local district assemblies in Talensi and Nabdam as well as engage the private sector actors.
“We want to create an enabling environment and local dialogue around increasing financing for maternal health service delivery,” Mr Kariama added.
Condolences have been pouring in from all over the world ever since the internet was hit with the devastating news of the death of Davido’s 3-year-old son.
The French Ambassador, who appeared to have also been struck by the news, took to her Instagram page to console the Nigerian singer.
“Waking up to an empty house. No more laughters of your beautiful son. I feel so painfully for you, Davido and your family. A living nightmare. No word can express the pain, sadness and anger. May the overwhelming love of your friends and family help you,” she wrote.
Cabinet has approved the Ghana Space Policy and Implementation Plan that will enable the full operationalisation of the Ghana Space Agency next year.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia announced this at the opening of the plenary session of the Group of Earth Observations (GEO) Conference in Accra on Wednesday.
The policy, he said, would support efforts by the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute to explore and harness the space industry for accelerated growth.
Space applications are essential tools for security, environmental monitoring, communication, disaster prevention and risk reduction.
Ghana is hosting a five-day GEO 2022 Week titled “Global Action for Local Impact” to explore ways to use accurate and timely data, technology and services to address environmental challenges.
The meeting was organised by the Group of Earth Observations Secretariat, in collaboration with a local organising committee, comprising the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ghana Statistical Service and the University of Energy and Natural Resources as well as the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute, ahead of the Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) in Egypt next week.
The GEO is a global partnership that works to make Earth observations tools and services openly available around the world for better policy and investment decisions.
Vice President Bawumia noted that investments in Earth observations capabilities were growing and enabling the widespread application of environmental intelligence to tackle environmental challenges.
Despite the increased data availability than ever before, the Vice President said, many low- and middle-income countries were lagging in infrastructure, capacity, and expertise to tap into advances made in Earth Observations technologies.
“The Africa Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063, the continent’s blueprint which is aligned with the post-2030 Agenda, seeks to transform Africa through inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development.
“Fundamental to Agenda 2063 are the African Outer Space Programme and African Space Policy and Strategy that reinforce the continent’s vision to not only be a consumer in the global space arena but to become a producer and regulator of space products,” he said.
Dr Bawumia noted that through those initiatives, the AU was working to address the growing needs of African countries to harness space technologies and services, including Earth observations to drive policies and decisions to attain the agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He observed that recent heatwaves and wildfires in Europe and severe storms and floods unleashed in some parts of Africa, the Americas and Asia had contributed to severe destruction and displaced thousands of people.
“These events reinforce our resolve to continue working collaboratively to find innovative solutions to build resilient economies, secure food, and water systems, and ensure the sustainable management of our planet,” Dr Bawumia added.
The Vice President stated that the meeting presented a unique opportunity for Africa to renew her unequivocal commitment to deepen international collaborations and develop national EO capabilities to support socio-economic transformation for the achievement of the “Africa We Want” and the “World We Want”, as articulated in the agenda 2063 and post-2030 Agenda respectively.
Dr Bawumia said the intra north-south and rural-urban migrations contributed to urban sprawl and expanding informal settlements. Unplanned spatial expansion of big cities threatened economic efficiency, increasing social and environmental costs for urban commuting.
More also, natural resource depletion heightened by unsustainable mining, inadequate waste management and sanitation, make Ghana extremely vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation and threaten resilience and economic growth.
Therefore, he said, earth observation systems could easily be used to track, and in some instances minimise the negative impact of these environmental problems.
“In Ghana, for example, we are applying the products of the Digital Earth Africa programme to monitor landscape changes because of illegal mining activities.
“Developing an interoperable data ecosystem that combines Earth observations data with other data, including socio-economic data, citizen data, and statistical data, among others would be more meaningful and impactful,” the Vice President stated.
He stressed government’s development priorities with focus on economic transformation through value-addition to create jobs, reduce poverty, and enhance social inclusion while sustaining the integrity of the environment.
“Our medium and long-term development plans are underpinned by the “Ghana Beyond Aid” vision to change the mindsets of our citizens towards an increased reliance on internal resources plus private sector investment to lead economic transformation,” he said.
He was of the belief that application of digital technologies was fundamental to the achievement of the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda, with emphasis on the maximisation of resources, investments in agriculture, improved health, and industrialisation, enhancing critical skills and education as well as promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.
“We are almost finalising a new Digital Economy Policy and a Digital Transformation Blueprint to position Ghana as the leader in ICT innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
The ongoing Ghana Digital Acceleration Project, he said, was expected to increase access to mobile internet and broadband services by encouraging private sector investment in last-mile connectivity in underserved and rural areas, with particular attention to women, persons with disabilities and the youth.
He observed that the fight against poverty, hunger, natural resource depletion and efforts toward a clean environment, and to achieve economic prosperity posed a serious risk without a safe and secured planet.
“We believe that this gathering offers Ghana and the rest of Africa the opportunity to catalyse increased use of Earth observations data, tools, and services to inform decisions for accelerated climate and sustainable development action,” he stated.
The government, he said, was working through bilateral and multilateral partnerships to put in place concrete actions to boost resource efficiency, establish a circular economy, mitigate, and adapt to climate change, mitigate disaster risks and halt biodiversity loss.
“We are also actively pursuing improved ways to harness the power of earth observations to support planning and decision-making in weather forecasting, measuring land-use change, monitoring coastlines, and monitoring and responding to disasters, including fires, floods, and earthquakes.
The Vice President called upon the GEO community to continuously invest in capacity development in low and middle-income countries to acquire the necessary technologies, knowledge and skills to access and use EO data effectively.
The Vice President said it was imperative that the GEO community continue working together to create the enablers for nations not only to access GEO data and services but use them to address identified development challenges.
“Ghana reaffirms her commitment to being an active member of GEO. I remain hopeful that the outcomes of this meeting will maintain the momentum and reassert the global call to leave no one behind,” he stated.
The rapper, singer, and songwriter, on this new jam produced by Jay Scratch serenade music lovers with some catchy hooks and rap prowess.
Knowns for his powerful works, Kweku Darlington wows fans with another banger that is laced with tender guitar and tickles of piano keys all mixed with a jamming drum tone that brings in the warmth music lovers will desire.
Speaking about his new single, Kweku Darlington said: “I continue to explore my versatility in music and I know my fans would enjoy this whole new vibe from me. Music lovers should get their dancing shoes and hit the dance floor.”
“Your sugar got me feeling like aah, enemies we be killing them kpa, Carry your love from Abuja to Kumasi body. Your body you dey carry so fire.
“What a bombshell with no drama, and anytime you see trouble, I will be coming like Osama,” Excerpts of the chilling and charming lyrics of the new jam.
Kweku Darlington who has emerged as a top rap act in recent months has received numerous commendations from music legends including Okyeame Kwame and Reggie Rockstone.
The “Sika Aba Fie” hitmaker has made progress in his music career dropping back-to-back hits including “Sika Kankan”, “Baabi Awu”, “Go Slow” and “Onipa”
Some commercial drivers and petty traders in Accrahave called on the Government to institute a price control measure to regulate the prices of goods and services.
They said the economic challenges facing the country demanded that the Government controlled prices to protect the poor and the vulnerable.
The drivers and traders, who were reacting to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s televised address on the economy on Sunday, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that some wholesalers were taking undue advantage of the economic situation and feared without a price control measure by government, the situation could get worse.
They said the Government must engage producers, manufacturers and importers in determining prices of goods and services and task the police and military to ensure compliance with agreed prices.
“Some of our members who are wholesalers increase prices although their stocks are old, but as petty traders we are compelled to buy at those prices and it’s affecting our businesses, so the President and his government must send the military men into the shops to stop that…”
The President in his televised address asked traders not to make utmost profits out of the current economic challenges.
He said the Government was working to restore and sustain macroeconomic stability within the next three to six years with focus on ensuring debt sustainability to promote durable and inclusive growth while protecting the poor.
The Ghanaian economy has for the past months faced difficult times due to high interest rate, depreciation of the Cedi against the United States Dollar (USD) and the continuous increase in fuel prices leading to increases in prices of goods on the market.
Patrick Nyarko, a Petty Trader, said the daily increase in prices of goods was affecting their businesses badly but hopeful that the President would take a “strong” decision on pricing in the country “to give hope to the citizenry”.
“For us retailers, our situation is worse. Some of our businesses have collapsed but I have some hope in the President’s speech and we pray that he does something to control the price for us.”
Daniel Ofoe Zutovi, a Commercial Driver, said it was time the Government controlled prices and that the citizenry was looking up to him to fulfill his promise of restoring confidence in the economy.
Mr Zutovi said: ” We are worried about the future of the younger generation, at least we are old people but if the economic hardship is not addressed, our younger generation will suffer in the near future, so the prices must be controlled.”
“Everything is now expensive, even the price of Apketeshie (local gin) has gone up, we cannot make ourselves happy anymore, so the President must control the prices,” another Commercial Driver, Samuel Ofosu, said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Clement Boateng, Vice President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), said price control would not be possible.
He said price variation was the order in a liberalised market, so prices could not be controlled.
The GUTA Vice President said it was true that some members of the Association were taking undue advantage of the situation and said the executive was engaging them.
Prosecutors have alleged that two Iowa teenagers who killed their high school Spanish teacher did it after they were frustrated by their poor grades, CBS News reports.
Documents filed on Tuesday allege that teens Willard Miller and Jeremy Goodale murdered 66-year-old Nohema Graber at their school in Fairfield, with evidence showing they plotted the murder due to their poor performance in Graber’s class.
A lawyer for one of the suspects has asked for four search warrants to be invalidated, as well as the suppression of evidence found in the the suspect’s home, information on his cellphone and social media, and comments he made to police.
“The poor grade is believed to be the motive behind the murder of Graber which directly connects Miller,” read the court documents, filed by Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding and Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown. Miller previously denied being involved with the murder, but “later stated he had knowledge of everything but did not participate.” He alleged that a “roving group of masked kids” killed Graber, and forced him to get a wheelbarrow to move her body.
Graber was found dead under a tarp in a Fairfield park on Nov. 3, 2021. The two students were 16 at the time of the murder. Evidence showed that she had been beaten to death with a baseball bat by the teens. According to investigators, Miller met with Graber to discuss his grades the day before her body was found. Witnesses saw Graber’s van leave the park, with two males in the front seats, on Nov. 2. The van was later left at the end of a nearby road.
Photos of a Snapchat conversation apparently confirm Goodale admitted he participated in the murder of Graber. The two suspects, now 17, will be tried as adults. They are facing life in prison.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the judge, Malam Rilwanu Kyaudai, confirmed the divorce between the couple through Khul’i (divorce by mutual Agreement).
He, however, ordered that Dahiru return to her now ex-husband, the dowry, a suitcase containing clothes – except the ones she has already used.
“She will only return the clothes she hasn’t used. The complainant has the permission of the court to move her belongings from her former husband’s house”, the judge ruled, as quoted by NAN.
Although Yakubu objected to the divorce, saying he loved Dahiru and had no intention of letting her go, the court granted the divorce.
Meanwhile, in another report, a 25-year-old woman who has been arrested for killing her husband has confessed to the crime, saying he treated her well and they never quarrelled, but she simply hates marriage.
The suspect, Fatima Abubakar who is currently in the custody of Nigeria’s Borno State Police Command, said that she got pissed off without any provocation whenever she woke up to realise that she was married.
According to her, before the tragic death of her husband, Goni Abbah, she had tried to exit the marriage but all her efforts failed.
“I never wanted the marriage. Goni was my second husband; I got separated from my first husband because I hate marriage.
“Anytime I woke up with the fact that I am married, it pieces me off. At some point, I had to run to my parent to demand an end to the marriage but they always sent me back, asking me to be patient,” the suspect told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
While in tears, Fatima recounted how she had gone to the extent of sometimes fleeing from the house to sleep outside, in a bid to have some respite from whatever was chasing her from the peaceful matrimonial home.
She lamented that she didn’t know what was wrong with her and that she couldn’t say with certainty that she killed her husbandwho was the Chief Imam of the area.
The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has hinted at possible sanctions for persons who deliberately refused to take part in the SIM Re-registration exercise.
This comes on the back of the expiration of the October moratorium granted by the Ministry to get SIM users to re-register their cards.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful, however, maintained that her ministry is in talks with the National Identification Authority (NIA) to address the challenges of registrants with genuine concerns.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Technology Breakfast Meeting organised to deepen the awareness of the government’s digitalization drive among public sector chief executives, she entreated Ghanaians to support measures the government is putting in place to protect the digital space.
“We all need to ensure that we protect the systems that we are putting in place. This is one aspect of it, but the SIM re-registration is also another aspect of it. There are some who have genuine concerns, and we are working with the NIA to [address them]. But there are others who have the Ghana cards but have not completed the process. So clearly, either they do not intend to, or are unwilling to, so we will have some measures to announce in due course soon,” the Minister of Communication and Digitalisation explained.
The Ministry announced in October that 28,959,006 SIM cards have been linked to Ghana Cards so far.
This number represents 67.28% of the 42,749,662 total SIM cards issued nationally.
Furthermore, 18,930,664 SIM Cards have been fully registered, representing 44.28% of the total SIM cards issued.
The ministry acknowledged that some of our citizens have had difficulties obtaining Ghana Cards to enable them to undertake their SIM registration.
This led to the announcement of a grace period for persons who have started but not completed the process to re-register their SIM cards until October 31.
On The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Canadian-American actor Matthew Perry shared a story about a rumour that he mayhave beaten up Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in grade school. He was on the show to promote his new memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.
When Colbert asked him if he did, Perry responded “I don’t think so.”
Perry recalled the story after Colbert asked him who is more recognizable in Canada: him or Justin Trudeau. Though he conceded and said Trudeau is more easily recognizable, he then told the story about how his friends Chris and Brian Murray alleged that they had beaten up Justin Trudeau in elementary school. Without any evidence or recollection of that moment, Perry said he “just believed them.”
According to Perry, Trudeau eventually got word of the story and reached out to him on Twitter and asked Perry if he wanted to have a fight.
“You have your own army. No thanks,” Perry said, who added that their online scuffle ended there.
That’s not Perry’s only brush with a Canadian celeb on his current book tour. He apologized for writing in the memoir: “Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?”
This comes after the musician confessed in a Facebook post that his former manager, Bullgod, had a hand in the death of Fennec.
“Bull Dog since u r bringing out secrets. You will tell Ghanaians. What happen to Fenicks Murder !! And I am not joking about this time!! I am ready to tell the court about what you told me about you and your men and how planned that foolish act get ready. This Akuffo Addo won’t give you a murder chance to be on our streets !!! Watch how this ends !!! You can’t fight time!” read the post sighted by GhanaWeb.
The police statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Grace Ansah-Akrofi, noted that they “have made contact with Shatta Wale, who is cooperating with us on the matter.”
2. The Police have made contact with Shatta Walewho is cooperating with us on the matter.
3. The Police would like to put on record that the recently established Cold Case Unit, has been working for months on all unresolved murder cases, including that of Fennec Okyere with support from the affected families.
4. This new development from Shatta Wale is therefore going to complement our ongoing investigation.
5. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the families who have been working with the Cold Case Unit since its establishment for their cooperation and understanding.
6. We wish to assure the public that the Police will continue to work relentlessly on these cases in order to bring closure to the affected families.
The Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya, SarahAdwoaSafo, has reportedly returned to Ghana from her stay in the United States of America.
According to citinewsroom.com, sources close to Adwoa Safo have indicated that she will be resuming her parliamentary duties soon.
The MP’s return comes after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, on October 26, 2022, ruled that the report of the committee set up to look into her case and that of two other MPs who absented themselves for a number of sittings should be presented before the whole house for a debate.
Alban Bagbin dismissed the objection of the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, to the admissibility of the committee report for the consideration of the house.
“As I have noted in this ruling, the decision (sic) on not to admit a motion is the exclusive preserve of the Speaker. In view of the foregoing, the House is well within its right to receive and consider reports of the committee and make a determination arising out of the consideration.
“In the circumstances, it is my ruling that the motion was rightfully admitted and the report of the committee is subject to the consideration of the house. It goes without saying that the (sic) objection of the Majority Leader today (sic) is hereby dismissed…” he concluded his verdict.
It will be recalled that on July 29, 2022, a day after parliament adjourned its first decision to determine the fate of the Dome Kwabenya MP, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sacked her as the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
In a statement, the president said the revocation of the MP’s appointment as minister was to take immediate effect.
“In accordance with article 81(a) of the Constitution, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has revoked the appointment of Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, as Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, with immediate effect.
“The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, will continue to act as caretaker Minister for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, until such a time that President Akufo-Addo appoints a substantive Minister,” the statement from the Presidency concluded.
Sarah Adwoa Safo has been in the United States of America since 2021.
Nigerians on Twitter are reacting to photos of 80-year-old twin brothers who are marking their birthday.
Umegov Valentine, who works at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, tweeted the photos of the twins, according to his Twitter profile
Nigerians found the story of the twins amazing, especially as they are growing old together without leaving each other’s side.
The twins posed for the photoshoot to mark their 80 years on earth, and many who have seen the photos have become emotional.
Umegov said in the tweet:
“Hey daddies a super amazing birthday the twins of our time. What a blessing. 80 is the new 16. May the almighty keep sustaining you both.”
Umegov did not disclose his relationship with the twins.
Reactions from Twitter users
@Sweetkel4sweetU said:
“Age gracefully and God bless you both!”
@HeriElemi9plus said:
“I just know that the Daddy smiling was the troublemaker of the two as kids. Happy birthday Sirs, many more years in Jesus name.”
@avuskiy_jamin said:
“I hope God blesses me with twin. The prayer now is for them to enjoy their children, grandchildren and live to see their great grandchildren . God bless them and bless us also, so be it.”
@Temiroyal1 commented:
“First time seeing two elderly twins and I’m sure I’m not the only one here.”
@one_zarah said:
“I could tell who the mischievous one is. They look so cute. Happy birthday to them.”
According to her, the project was solely funded by the Creative Arts Agency.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, it is important to state that these projects were solely conceived, managed, and financially undertaken by The Creative Arts Agency, through its own fundraising activities,” a statement by the agency noted.
The statement added that the project was not a profit-making venture, as has been reported on social media.
“It is a complete fabrication being propagated by some shameless persons, and which, unfortunately, has been published by sections of the media. This project was not embarked upon to make a profit, and there have been no lucrative contracts awarded for it,” it added.
Per details on the website of the Creative Arts Council’s website, cac.gov.gh, Gyankroma Akufo-Addo is the Director of the council.
Below is the full statement by Gyankoma Akufo-Addo:
Each site had a six-week workshop process to identify themes, locations, and artists. Each site was paid for with funds largely from the private sector, sourced solely by the Creative Arts Agency. No contract to paint a succession of bridges or underpasses has either been conceived, has ever been offered, or has ever been accepted. Indeed, any tender or contract awarded for such a project would have been made public.
For the avoidance of any doubt, it is important to state that these projects were solely conceived, managed, and financially undertaken by The Creative Arts Agency, through its own fundraising activities.
Site 1, Ako Adjei, was funded by the private sector.
Site 2, Tetteh Quarshie, was paid for by myself, Gyankroma Akufo-Addo.
Site 3, was completed through the generosity of the creatively minded Ben Asante, CEO of Ghana Gas, who understands its social community importance.
The paint used for each site, again, was provided by Coral Paints and its CEO, who understand the importance of pushing the visibility of Ghanaian artists. The absurdity of $25 million, or any amount for that matter, being awarded to myself to undertake this project is a disgusting narrative.
It is a complete fabrication being propagated by some shameless persons, and which, unfortunately, has been published by sections of the media. This project was not embarked upon to make a profit, and there have been no lucrative contracts awarded for it.
All efforts to undermine my credibility through the publication of these falsehoods and baseless lies will not wash. I have instructed my lawyer to seek redress in the law courts against persons and media houses that published these falsehoods with the sole intention of destroying my reputation.
Denis Odoi and Kamal Sowah helped propel Club Brugge KV to the round of 16 of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League competition.
As the team advances to the knockout rounds of UEFA’s premier club tournament, the two have been crucial to the club’s success this season in the competition.
Sowah, a 22-year-old attacker, has been outstanding for the Belgian side this season, contributing two goals and two assists in the league. Odoi, who has established himself as a key player at the back line, has played a key role in the team’s five clean sheets in six games during the group stage this year.
Club Brugge made history by making it to the UCL round of 16 for the first time after several tries.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, it is important to state that these projects were solely conceived, managed, and financially undertaken by The Creative Arts Agency, through its own fundraising activities,” a statement by the agency noted.
The statement added that the project was not a profit-making venture, as has been reported on social media.
“It is a complete fabrication being propagated by some shameless persons, and which, unfortunately, has been published by sections of the media. This project was not embarked upon to make a profit, and there have been no lucrative contracts awarded for it,” it added.
Per details on the website of the Creative Arts Council’s website, cac.gov.gh, Gyankroma Akufo-Addo is the Director of the council.
Below is the full statement by Gyankoma Akufo-Addo:
CREATIVE ARTS AGENCY
In August 2018, Art for All was conceived. Its purpose was to beautify our capital city of Accra, to give a platform to our Ghanaian artists, to build art appreciation for its audience, and to serve as beautiful backdrops for videos, or photoshoots and be a tourist attraction.
Each site had a six-week workshop process to identify themes, locations, and artists. Each site was paid for with funds largely from the private sector, sourced solely by the Creative Arts Agency. No contract to paint a succession of bridges or underpasses has either been conceived, has ever been offered, or has ever been accepted. Indeed, any tender or contract awarded for such a project would have been made public.
For the avoidance of any doubt, it is important to state that these projects were solely conceived, managed, and financially undertaken by The Creative Arts Agency, through its own fundraising activities.
Site 1, Ako Adjei, was funded by the private sector.
Site 2, Tetteh Quarshie, was paid for by myself, Gyankroma Akufo-Addo.
Site 3, was completed through the generosity of the creatively minded Ben Asante, CEO of Ghana Gas, who understands its social community importance.
The paint used for each site, again, was provided by Coral Paints and its CEO, who understand the importance of pushing the visibility of Ghanaian artists. The absurdity of $25 million, or any amount for that matter, being awarded to myself to undertake this project is a disgusting narrative.
It is a complete fabrication being propagated by some shameless persons, and which, unfortunately, has been published by sections of the media. This project was not embarked upon to make a profit, and there have been no lucrative contracts awarded for it.
All efforts to undermine my credibility through the publication of these falsehoods and baseless lies will not wash. I have instructed my lawyer to seek redress in the law courts against persons and media houses that published these falsehoods with the sole intention of destroying my reputation.
It seems Actress Nana Ama McBrown has a lot to deal with. McBrown has suffered various attacks and she is still under attack for undergoing liposuction.
In August 2022, McBrown revealed during a mentorship program that she went for Liposuction because of the excess skin around her tummy area.
According to Nana Ama McBrown, she only did liposuction to get rid of her saggy tummy without touching the rest of her body.
She said, ‘I am saying it and I am not shy because if you are growing and you are comfortable and you have the resources and you are healthy, you still need maintenance”
Following the revelation, McBrown has come under constant attacks for lying about her body maintenance procedure.
The latest to call out McBrown is Actress Kisa Gbekle. She has disclosed that liposuction doesn’t solve excess skin issues.
According to her, McBrown has deceived Ghanaians about what she actually went for which is more than liposuction.
She said during an interview with Naa Ashokor; ‘”there was something I was seeing on the internet, I am not going to speak against a senior person of mine but she was like she did liposuction to solve her excess skin, it’s never possible“.
“If you are listening to me and you have excess skin, liposuction can never solve your excess skin and I read about it because I wanted to know if what the doctor was telling me was true“.
Meanwhile, Delay has also dragged Nana Ama McBrown during a different mentorship program.
Delay roasted McBrown alongside other celebrities who have gone under the knife for various surgeries.
The family of a man who was allegedly killed by some police personnel at Adomfe, in the Asante Akyem South Municipality of the Ashanti Region, have filed a GH¢10 million suit against the Inspector General of Police, COP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare; the Ghana Police Service, and the Attorney General.
The suit, according to a report by The Chronicle newspaper, is jointly filed with nine others.
Stating the details available to it, the newspaper said that the deceased man, 33-year-old Kofi Ampomah, was allegedly seized by nine police officerson October 15, 2022, just after he had closed from work.
Further details said that upon his seizure, the police officers allegedly assaulted him by using pepper spray on him, after which they butchered him with cutlasses or machetes.
The police are then said to have left the man unattended.
Maxwell Boamah, who is said to be a customary successor of the late Kofi Ampomah, is also reported to have said that the body of the deceased was handled like an animal by the officers from the Konongo Division of the Ghana Police Service.
“The police finally dumped the deceased at Konongo Odumasi Government Hospital and lied that he had been killed by armed robbers,” details of the writ said.
The report added that the family of the deceased is filing a suit for GH¢10 million as compensation that will be used for the education, maintenance, upkeep, and trauma suffered by the dependants of the deceased.
Why Kofi Ampomah was killed?
The Chronicle newspaper explained that Boamah, the relative of the deceased, said that Kofi was mistaken for a young man who had allegedly reported the defendants (the nine policemen) to the Bompata police for apparently releasing a woman.
The woman, it added, was allegedly selling local gin mixed with a substance suspected to be Indian hemp to the public.
“He averred that the police, on two different occasions, arrested and released the woman in question after extorting GH¢3,000 and GH¢4,000 respectively from her,” the report said.
Police officers named in the writ:
According to the writ, the following are the names of the officers alleged to have been involved in the death of Kofi Ampomah:
General Sergeant Suleman Seidu (Sully Seidu), G/CPL Seth Agbango (Seth Agbango), D/L/CPL Salifu Yakubu, G/SGT Samuel Awrjamb, G/SGT Opare Samuel (Opare Samuel Antwi), D/CPL James Astikson Mensah (James Mensah), G/CPL Nyame Hayford, G/CPL Emmanuel Divines Delasi (Delasi Divine), and G/L/CPL Samuel Kwame Gorman (Gorman Samuel).
Additionally, the writ has named the IGP, COP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, and the AG, Godfred Dame, jointly in the case.
About the late Kofi Ampomah:
Details contained in the writ showed that the deceased was a Sprinter ‘trotro’ driver who plied his trade along the Adomfe to Kumasi Road.
Ghana and Ajax midfielder Kudus Mohammed continued his rich vein of form in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night as he scored a goal and provided an assist in his side’s 3-1 win over Rangers.
The Ghanaian set up teammate Steven Berghuis just inside four minutes for the opening goal before scoring the second goal himself in the 29th minute.
Kudus started the move before ghosting into the Ranger’s box and was given the time and space to switch from his favourite left foot onto his weaker right before shooting into the net as it deflected off a Rangers defender.
The home side pulled one back from the spot after Alfredo Morelos missed an open goal after robbing Ajax goalie Pasveer of the ball.
Rabbi Mantondo was deemed to have been fouled by Edson Alvarez in the box and a penalty was awarded to Rangers which James Tavernier converted to make it 2-1.
Portuguese youngster Francisco Conceição added the third goal for Ajax with a fine curler to make it 3-1.
Kudus played the entire duration of the game in his usual false nine roles but his side drops into the UEFA Europa League.
The Ghanaian has four goals and two assists in the UEFA Champions League this season.
The brother of President Nana Akufo-Addo says he has used the Presidential Jet with President Akufo-Addo “two or three times”.
This was Edward Akufo-Addo’s response to a question posed by Victor Adawudu at an Accra High Court.
Mr Adawudu is the lawyer for the Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), Mensah Thompson.
Mr Thompson and the Class Media Group have been sued for defamation by the President’s brother.
Mr Thompson is accused of falsely claiming on the media network that Mr Akufo-Addo travelled to Abuja via the Presidential Jet for his personal business.
Mr Akufo-Addo says the claim is “utterly false and a product of the defendant’s imagination.” He wants the court to order Mr Thompson to pay ¢10 million as damages.
The President’s brother on October 31 opened his case.
He informed the court of his decision to rely on his six-page witness statement.
He was then cross-examined by Victor Adawudu. Mr Adawudu asked whether Mr Akufo had ever boarded the Presidential jet.
“Question: Have you ever boarded the Presidential Jet?
Answer: Yes My Lord. 2 or 3 times with the President and once with the 1st Lady.
Question: Can you tell this court the destination when you used the Presidential Jet with the President?
Answer: I believe to Kumasi and with the 1st Lady, returning from Kumasi.
Q: Is it your case that the 2 consecutive flights that you had with the President was from Accra to Kumasi and back?
A: Yes, to the best of my recollection.”
The President’s brother explained that he boarded the jet because the President asked him to accompany him.
Q: In other words, you did not go with him as a public official. Not so?
A: That is so, I am not a public official.
Q: And the privilege extended to you by the President was because you are his family. Not so?
A: That is so. I am his brother.”
He was then questioned on how much he paid each time he boarded the Jet. Mr Akufo-Addo replied that he did not pay anything.
“I didn’t pay anything. The President did not ask me to pay.
“Putting it to you that the courtesies that you enjoyed without paying were borne by government machinery from public funds,” Mr Adawudu stated.
“I am sure the flight was paid for from public funds, I do not think my joining the flight incurred any additional costs. My brother was going there in any event”, he answered.
A presidential candidate hopeful of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ernest Kwaku Kobeah, has waded into calls for the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to be sacked.
He believes this will boost investors’ confidence to make the economy fit.
Ghana’s economy keeps on in limbo whiles market women and traders demonstrate and protest economic hardship due to the depreciation of the cedi to the dollar since the country’s economy is import-driven.
Ghana’s economy keeps on in limbo whiles market women and traders demonstrate and protest economic hardship due to the depreciation of the cedi to the dollar since the country’s economy is import-driven.
According to him, the Bank Of Ghana has revealed that Ghana’s total public debt stock went up marginally by GH¢130 million to GH¢393.4 billion in June 2022, about 78.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, stating that this will affect the economy since no policy or production can reduce the rate of importation into the country.
He said even though the Parliament has failed under Article 82 which gives a clear procedure on how a Minister can be removed but his stay in office will bring the era of Kalabule in 1979 when the military took over to discipline some traders on the street.
Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif has said that the government has budgeted for Ghana’s campaign in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar but he can not disclose the details to Ghanaians.
According to Mustapha Ussif, they have the budget for the entire tournament, and where the Black Stars will reach will determine the amount of money they will spend in Qatar.
“We have budgeted for the entire tournament and where we are going to reach will determine how much we will going to spend.”
“So until we finish the tournament, we can’t tell you (Ghanaians) how much we are going to spend but we have a budget estimated for the entire tournament,” Mustapha Ussif said as quoted by JoySports.
The Black Stars will begin their 2022 FIFA World Cup with an opening game against Portugal on Thursday, November 24 at the 974 Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
A spokesperson for the ninety New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs)pushing for the removal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta and Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen, to restore some confidence in the economy has added the Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia who is the Head of the Economic Management Team (EMT) to the list.
According to the MP for Asante-Akim North Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Andy Appiah-Kubi, the vice president cannot be forgiven when it comes to the mismanagement of the economy.
He said the vice president as the head of EMT also played a role in the gross mismanagement of the economy which has led to people losing confidence in Ghana’s economy.
It is under the watch of the vice president that all rating agencies downgraded Ghana’s economy to Caa2.
The spokesperson added the vice president to the list of personalities that must be removed from the management of the economy to restore some confidence to the economy while reacting to the rumours from the vice president’s campthat he was not allowed to do his work leading to the situation the country finds itself.
The NPP MP spoke on the Accra 100.5 FM’s mid-day news on Wednesday, November 2, 2022.
He said for the past six years, the vice president and the two finance ministers have supervised the dwindling fortunes of the economy.
These people have been at the helm of affairs and the country is suffering and Ghanaians have nothing to show due to economic challenges.
Now everybody is suffering from the skyrocketing price of food, high inflation, cedi depreciation and speeding petroleum prices. He added that in all these, the vice president remains the head of the EMT.
He noted that the backstops with the vice president when it comes to the management of the economy.
“The vice president has no excuse for mismanaging the economy and he cannot jump ship when people are baying for the blood of the ministers,” lawmaker Andy Appiah-Kubi charged.
That was Ghana’s first-ever appearance at the global showpiece where the team exited the round of 16 after a 3-0 defeat to Brazil.
“Before we went to the World Cup, appearance fee was alien to all of us,” former Ghana FA president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, says as he recalls how this financial package for players became a part of the fiber of Black Stars’ participation in tournaments in an interview with Muftawu Nabila Abdulai on Prime Take.
“Appearance fee cropped up when we were playing the last friendly against Korea in Edinburgh, Scotland,” he says. “When we went to Edinburgh, the players drew our attention based on intelligence they had gathered from their colleagues in other European teams.
“The current coach of the Black Stars, Otto Addo, had lots of information because he knew all the players in the German national team so they shared with their colleagues and shared with us that FIFA was going to pay some money which has to be shared among players so we needed to tell them how much they were going to earn.
“Before we went to the World Cup, we hadn’t made any budget for appearance fee so we had to engage them and do a report,” he added.
“I remember I did a handwritten report and sent it via fax to the Osei Bonsu Amoah [then Deputy Sports Minister] that this the issue that had come up in camp in we needed to address it as a matter of urgency.
“We reached an agreement and the money was sent to the Ghana mission in Berlin and they transferred it to a bank near the team base camp in Wolfsburg and we paid the players, but it was really a thorny issue.
“So the learning point from 2006 was that, we needed to engage players early.”
The players were paid about $50,000 each as an appearance fee for the 2006 tournament in Germany.
As the brawl between Bullgod andShatta Wale intensifies, certain revelations and jabs seem unavoidable.
In a recent post shared on Facebook, the former manager for Shatta Wale asked the dancehall artiste to humble himself before 3 Music Boss, Baba Sadiq, to get Black Sherif to collaborate with him.
According to Bulldog, Shatta Wale’s joint effort with the ‘Oh Paradise’ artiste will be the main collaboration to push his music career.
He added that the SM Boss was battling against time, and nobody has at any point been successful in attempting to swindle time.
Read full post below:
“Please call Baba Sadiq now, humble yourself before him, plead with him to lead you to Blacko and beg for a collabo — that’s the only collaboration the world will love to hear on the GOG album.
“Iddriss Yussif (Deportee) advised you about Blacko some years back, you nearly killed him — you see him now? YOU ARE WRESTLING AGAINST TIME — and no man has ever won that battle.
“You have lost already — time has beaten you…I am at my family house and improperly dressed in my cheap jalabia — come beat me. Love always bro. For life is for life.”
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