K-pop singer and actor Lee Jihan has died. The young entertainer was among the victims of the horrific crowd surge tragedy in Seoul, South Korea. He was 24.
Lee Jihan was one of 154 people killed in the incident, which occurred on Saturday in Itaewon, a busy nightlife district in the capital city.
Lee Jihan first gained fame competing on the second season of the popular reality singing competition series Produce 101, where 101 contestants are all vying for a chance to join an 11-member K-pop group.
After appearing on Produce 101, Lee Jihan made a foray into acting in 2019, appearing in the popular Korean drama series Today Was Another Nam Hyun Day.
The actor’s agency, 935 Entertainment, released a statement to multiple outlets confirming the news.
“We are sad to deliver such news today, but Lee Jihan has passed away in the crush in Itaewon last night,” the statement read. “We would like to express our deepest condolences to his family, who are saddened by the sudden tragic news, also to everyone who loved him.”
On Saturday, thousands of people assembled in the streets of Itaewon to celebrate Halloween festivities. However, the crowd size became overwhelming, leading to panic and an eventual fatal crowd surge.
The death toll has continued to rise since the incident, with over 80 other people reported injured, and thousands of missing person reports filed in the days since the tragedy.
The battle, which the Braves of Customs were leading by six points, stopped suddenly due to an odd power outage at the Cantonment Prison, giving them cause to make that accusation.
The Braves were confident they would win with just a few minutes remaining and a 48-42 advantage, but due to the peculiar light conditions, the game had to be called while the organizers thought about their next move.
The suspicion by the Braves stems from the fact that whiles the lights at the Prisons’ court were off, the area had no power troubles with the lights brightly on.
They are convinced that the incident was plotted by their opponents who knew they were just a few minutes away from a painful defeat.
Speaking to GhanaWeb on the development, Alex Kukula, Director of the Greater Accra Basketball League and Vice President of the Ghana Basketball Association described it as strange and gave a chronological account of events on the day.
He disclosed that efforts by him and other officials to get answers over the sudden power outage proved futile as facility managers who either not available or not cooperative.
According to him, the organizers were shocked by the sudden power as the facility is directly connected to the national grid which immunes it from power outage even when the specific area experience a power cut.
Mr Alex Kukula will not be drawn into the conspiracy theories but assured that the organizers will fully investigate the issue and take the necessary measures that will protect the integrity of the competition and basketball in the country.
“We’ve no concrete proof to ascertain if it was a deliberate act. To put off a whole headquarters of the Ghana Prisons’ Service just because of a basketball match, is a serious thing if that’s what happened. I would like all of us to keep a cool head and find a way of solving this thing now.
”It’s their premise we’ve been using for the league the past few years. We will go back to the powers that gave us permission to look into it and let us know officially what happened on that day so that there will be clarity and the integrity of the law will be kept,” he said.
The son of a boxing promoter has become the latest in a string of drill rappers who have died in violent attacks in London.
Lamar Scott, 27, who performed as Perm, was shot after a car chase in Brixton, south London, on Sunday.
His father is boxing promoter Dean Whyte who represents heavyweight Dillian Whyte, PA Media agency reports.
Deliveroo driver Guilherme Messias da Silva, 21, also died after he was knocked off his moped during the chase.
No arrests have been made.
Speaking to Globo, nursing technician Rosângela Messias de Sousa, 46, said she “went into despair, screamed, fainted” after learning about the death of her son.
“It’s very sad, my heart is bleeding. It hurts everything,” she said, adding that her son had moved to London to work.
Image source, Dean WhyteImage caption, Promoter Dean Whyte paid tribute to his son on social media
Detectives believe Mr Scott got out of the car after it crashed with the moped and other vehicles, before he was chased by another man and fatally shot.
The gunman is then thought to have got back into his car and fled the area. Police said he was still being hunted for.
The killings are the latest in a spate of gun attacks in the capital, including a triple shooting in Ilford, east London, on 25 October where Saydi Abu Sheikh, 23, who rapped under the name Giddy, and Zakariya Jeilani Mohamed, 32, who used the name Shifty, both died.
In September another rapper, Maximillian Kusi-Owusu, 29, known as M Lo, was shot in Kensington High Street, and on the final day of the Notting Hill Carnival in August, Takayo Nembhard, known as TKorStretch, was fatally stabbed.
There were another three fatal shootings in London in the space of six days in July.
Camilo Palacio, 23, in Wood Green, north London, and Sam Brown, 28, in Cheney Row Park, Waltham Forest, east London, both died in separate attacks on 24 July.
Daneche Tison, 26, was killed in Bruckner Street, Queen’s Park, west London, on 19 July.
The following month, on 13 August, Kacey Boothe, 25, was shot outside a child’s birthday party in Walthamstow, east London.
According to Met Police figures, there were 12 fatal shootings among 134 homicides investigated by the force during the whole of 2021.
Between 31 October last year and 19 July this year, there were also no fatal shootings in London.
Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has noted that the government erred in choosing to invest GH25 billion to collapse nine local banks rather than utilizing GH5 billion to save them.
In a recent interview with the legislative press corps, Mr. Bagbin highlighted that “it is the priority of every country to ensure they are in charge of the banking sector,” adding, “So, if we had Ghanaians with banks facing issues, it is incumbent on us to make them successful.”
On Sunday, October 30, 2022, he informed the media, “I think our colleagues in government erred in not seeing it that way.
He said: “They tried and ensured that Ghanaians making it in the sector lost out and instead of using about GH¢5 billion to help the banks to survive, we ended up losing GH¢25 billion, and we have still not been able to sanitise the system and there is still a lot of work to be done.”
Mr Amoabeng, whose bank was also collapsed in the first term of the Akufo-Addo government, told Nana Otu Darko on CTV’s morning show, Dwabre Mu, on Tuesday, 4 October 2022: “I was pained by the collapse of Heritage Bank because it was young.”
“The Bank of Ghana had issued a licence to Heritage Bank and Heritage Bank had not operated for long and, so, unlike UT Bank, it had no bad loans or anything and it was a wholly-owned Ghanaian company that we had to nurture to grow,” he explained.
“Secondly, the owners of Heritage Bank found it fit to appoint a solid board,” he noted, adding: “I mean, the chairman was [Prof] Kwesi Botchwey. When it comes to finance in this country, he is the safest hands you can get; he’s seen it all.”
“As chairman, the board members run the bank, not the owner, so, I don’t know Seidu Agongo – as I told you, I haven’t met him before – but I know Kwesi Botchwey and I know his track record. So, if you have a bank that hasn’t got any baggage, it’s fresh and it’s got a board headed by Kwesi Botchwey, then it means its closure was a worse decision than UT Bank’s,” he further noted.
“As for UT Bank, we owed and they could have bailed [us out] but decided not to bail; that’s an option. That is why I mentioned that Heritage Bank, for example, was collapsed out of sheer wickedness,” he added.
Mr Amoabeng observed that the “unfortunate thing is, the Bank of Ghana is supposed to be independent but I don’t think they were independent with their decision on Heritage Bank because, if they were independent, why do you issue a licence and withdraw it?”
“When you were issuing the licence, didn’t you know the owners and the board?” he asked.
“It means they were told to withdraw the licence,” he deducted.
“And it’s not a fair way but it’s another dangerous path that Ghana has taken,” he regretted, noting: “Every institution has been politicised including even the army.”
“And that is why I am saying that for Heritage Bank, the institution that is supposed to be independent of the government [BoG], even though in principle, issues a licence and then withdraws that licence when the company hasn’t even done anything wrong,” Mr Amoabeng added.
Mr Amoabeng made similar comments a couple of years ago, saying he found it “extremely odd” for the Bank of Ghana to have collapsed Heritage Bank Limited, which had no bad loans on its books and was being run by the “right people” within the industry.
In his view, the revocation of the licence of the Ghanaian-owned bank, whose founder, Mr Seidu Agongo, has always argued was above board, as far as its books were concerned, was not only politically motivated but also “extremely unfair and unfortunate.”
Asked directly by TV3’s Paa Kwesi Asare in an interview on Business Focus: ‘Do you think, as many think, that some of the decision to close down certain banks was politically motivated?’ Mr Amoabeng answered: “A few of them; specifically Heritage Bank.”
“I don’t understand the issue because the Chairman of the Board is Dr Kwesi Botchwey. I have a lot of respect for him when it comes to finance in this country and managing Boards and he will not, in my estimation, ever accept to be Chairman of a bank that is not right and dealing in all sorts of things. I can say that for him,” Mr Amoabeng, whose bank was also among the nine Ghanaian banks that were collapsed in the central bank’s financial clean-up exercise during President Nana Akufo-Addo’s first term of office, noted.
“So,” Mr Amoabeng noted, “I find it extremely odd that a bank – and it had not started doing business for it to have bad loans and all those things – and for you to say that the owner didn’t have what it takes [doesn’t meet the fit-and-proper criterion] or however they put it, I mean the owner doesn’t run the bank, he’s a Ghanaian, he’s got the money, he’s appointed the right people to run the bank for him, so, what is the excuse?”
“I find that extremely, extremely unfair,” Mr Amoabeng asserted, adding: “Maybe I don’t have all the facts, but from where I stand, I find it really unfortunate.”
The Bank of Ghana revoked Heritage Bank’s licence on Friday, 4 January 2019, on the basis that Mr Agongo, the majority shareholder, among other things, used proceeds realised from alleged fraudulent contracts he executed for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), for which he has been facing prosecution together with former COCOBOD CEO Stephen Opuni, for the past four years.
Announcing the withdrawal of the licence, the Governor of the central bank, Dr Ernest Addison, told journalists – when asked if he did not deem the action as premature, since the COCOBOD case was still in court – that: “The issue of Heritage Bank, I wanted to get into the law with you, I don’t know if I should, but we don’t need the court’s decision to take the decisions that we have taken. We have to be sure of the sources of capital to license a bank; if we have any doubt, if we feel that it’s suspicious, just on the basis of that, we find that that is not acceptable as capital. We don’t need the court to decide for us whether anybody is ‘fit and proper’. Just being involved in a case that involves a criminal procedure makes you not fit and proper”.
However, Mr Agongo responded with a press statement in which he said that the “not fit and proper” tag stamped on him by the central bank was “capricious, arrogant, malicious and in bad faith.”
According to Mr Agongo, “In purportedly making the determination, the central bank obviously had little regard for the time-honoured principle that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction,” adding that: “The fact that I have a case pending before the High Court is a matter of public knowledge but my guilt or innocence is yet to be determined by the Honourable Court.”
“The determination that I am not a fit and proper person to be a significant shareholder of HBL because the central bank suspects the funds are derived from illicit or suspicious contracts with Cocobod is not only calculated to pre-judge the outcome of the criminal proceedings but also violative of the principle of presumption of innocence to which every individual is entitled. Since when has suspicion become a substitute for credible evidence?” Mr Agongo asked.
Also, the erstwhile Prof Botchwey Board issued a statement on the matter in which it said: “Heritage Bank was by the Bank of Ghana’s own admission, a solvent bank. It never received liquidity support from the Bank of Ghana. Its corporate governance record had never been impugned by the Bank of Ghana. We believe we have been done a grave injustice and a terrible precedent set that does not bode well for the future.”
The Volta River Authority (VRA) has put a stop to the water release from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams that was scheduled to happen.
According to a statement released by the VRA on Monday, the inflows into the Akosombo Reservoir have decreased to normal levels, meaning that the safety of its Dams is not under danger [adrotate class=”2″].
This comes after the Volta catchment area’s rainfall decreased over the previous week.
The Akosombo and Kpong dams might potentially spill last week after the Volta River Authority (VRA) noticed a continual high rise in the dams that necessitated a spillage to maintain their integrity.
“We have observed a consistent high rise in the Akosombo reservoir elevation over the past few weeks. If the current situation persists, it may result in the possible controlled spilling from the Akosombo and Kpong dams from November 1, 2022, to maintain the integrity of the Dam”, portions of the release read.
But the VRA said the planned spillage of water from the two dams won’t be carried out, as earlier announced.
The current management in charge of the Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO) has been criticized by the workforce.
The employees contend that despite the company’s local activities, the majority of its dollar-based business is conducted abroad, and the majority of managerial positions are held by retirees who do not have the best interests of the business at heart.
The workers claim that this is making their living conditions difficult, along with the present economic catastrophe that has plagued the nation. As a result, they have started a protest today, Monday, October 31, 2022, to express their unhappiness with the company’s current working conditions.
The workers therefore want all retirees occupying various managerial positions to step down.
“Somebody that you just picked from the university – all of us here, they picked us from the street, that does not mean we’ve not been to school. They did not come to the school to pick us.
“But if they come to your school and pick you, they give you GHS115 a month, that is one part of your allowance. How much is the utility man’s base pay, just do the calculation, just do the calculation,” he said.
He further explained that the retirees in management position are living comfortably at the expense of the poor workers.
“The poor workers’ salary you turn a blind eye to it. When he comes to ask of his money, you say the plant will shut down you don’t have money but when it comes to your fuel which is one item on your allowance, for that one you can pay; car maintenance allowance and all that,” he bemoaned.
He called on the owners to address the situation and ensure a remedy is found.
“Our agitation this morning is, the retirees who are managing this plant, we think they’ve gotten to their peak and they’re dropping, so we want the owners of this plant to know and then to do the right thing for all of us to maintain this plant the way Ghana wants it to be.
“VALCO workers are not destructive they’re hardworking, they work 12 hours a day,” the local union chairman stated.
Asante Kotoko coach Seydou Zerbo is not happy with the chances his lads missed in their victory against King Faisal.
The Porcupine Warriors beat city rivals King Faisal 3-0 at the Baba Yara Stadium on Monday evening.
Ugandan attacker Steven Mukwala broke the deadlock in the 11th minute. Captain Richard Boadu scored from the penalty spot. The third goal was scored by Nicholas Mensah.
Asante Kotoko is fifth with seven points but has a game in hand.
The Porcupine Warriors have one outstanding league match against Bechem United on Thursday, November 3.
“It is always good to win and having gotten this win in fact we are very happy about it. But it wasn’t easy God been so good we had this victory. We have had many chances we couldn’t score yes we work on those things but unfortunately, this is individual mistakes not the team collectively,” he told StarTimes after the game.
“You could see that it is individually that had the chance and couldn’t score so that not withstanding we still try as much as possible to make sure that those people who have been missing the chances will be able to score,”
Former health secretary Matt Hancock has been suspended as a Conservative MP after joining the cast of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Mr Hancock will swap representing his constituents at Westminster for eating bugs in the jungle.
But Tory party managers have taken a dim view of the West Suffolk MP’s decision to take part in a reality TV show while Parliament is sitting.
The Tory chief whip said it was “serious enough” to warrant suspension.
Simon Hart, who is in charge of Tory MP discipline, said he had taken the decision after speaking to Mr Hancock.
Andy Drummond, deputy chairman of the West Suffolk Conservative Association, said he was looking forward to seeing Mr Hancock “eating a kangaroo’s penis”.
The campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice called Mr Hancock’s decision “sickening”, and called for ITV to remove him from the programme.
The group tweeted: “Matt Hancock isn’t a ‘celebrity’, he’s the former health secretary who oversaw the UK having one of the highest death tolls in the world from Covid-19 whilst breaking his own lockdown rules.”
Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said: “The PM believes that at a challenging time for the country MPs should be working hard for their constituents, whether that is in the House or in their constituency.”
The spokesman said it was “unlikely” Mr Sunak would be watching the programme.
When MPs have the whip suspended, they are kicked out of the party within Parliament but remain an MP and continue to be paid.
Conservative MP Tim Loughton said Mr Hancock had been an “absolute prat” and losing the Tory whip was “the least he deserves”.
“I’m completely disappointed and disgusted that he’s put himself and his so-called celebrity career ahead of serving his constituents,” he told Times Radio.
Image source, ITVImage caption, Mr Hancock will join 10 initial campmates in Australia
Sources close to Mr Hancock said: “Matt doesn’t expect to serve in government again, so it’s an incredible opportunity for him to engage with the 12 million Brits who tune in every single night.
“Matt has told the whips in Parliament and he will use his time in the jungle to promote his dyslexia campaign.”
He will be a late addition to the ITV show, which returns to Australia this year and will star Euro 2022 winner Jill Scott, ex-rugby star Mike Tindall and singer Boy George, among others.
The BBC understands Mr Hancock has been working on several reality TV projects in recent months.
The former health secretary joins a long list of politicians to have braved the Bushtucker Trial, including former culture secretary Nadine Dorries.
Ms Dorries, who was the first celebrity to be eliminated in the 2012 series, tweeted: “At least he doesn’t have to worry about George Osborne in No 10 waiting to remove his whip when he gets back!”
She had the whip suspended for six months after failing to notify party bosses she was appearing.
Political figures on reality TV
Image source, Shutterstock
Image caption, George Galloway in red leotard and Pete Burns in blue leotard doing robotic dance
George Galloway – Famously donned a leotard for a robotic dance and impersonated a cat on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, while serving as a Respect MP
Penny Mordaunt – Commons leader and former Tory leadership candidate appeared on ITV’s Splash! in 2014, a celebrity diving competition. She cleared it with Conservative whips and donated her fee to charity
Ed Balls – Former Labour cabinet minister appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016
Robert Kilroy-Silk – Former UKIP MEP was on I’m A Celebrity in 2008
Ann Widdecombe – Former Tory minister took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2010
Edwina Currie – Former Tory minister did both Strictly Come Dancing in 2011, and I’m A Celebrity in 2014
Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik and the former leader of the Scottish Labour Party Kezia Dugdale have also made appearances in the jungle-set reality contest.
Mr Hancock has been out of government since he resigned as health secretary after he broke lockdown rules by having an affair in his departmental office.
He had been running to chair the powerful House of Commons Treasury committee, but dropped out of the race on Monday.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for Mr Hancock to “forego his MP’s salary for the duration” of his time on I’m a Celebrity.
Labour MP Chris Bryant, who chairs the Commons standards committee, has gone further calling for Mr Hancock to face a by-election. He called Mr Hancock’s decision “deeply unpleasant”.
He added that if Mr Hancock’s local Conservative association “have got any sense they might deselect him as well” – a move that would prevent him standing as a Tory candidate at the next election.
SNP spokesman Pete Wishart also joined with the criticism, adding: “It speaks volumes that Matt Hancock would rather be stranded in a remote jungle eating kangaroo testicles than spend a moment longer on the Tory benches at Westminster.”
BK Hacken Sports Manager, Martin Ericsson has disclosed that there are a lot of clubs interested in the services of Ghanaian youngster Ibrahim Sadiq.
Since signing for the Swedish club earlier this year, the 22-year-old has excelled and established himself as one of the best players at BK Hacken.
Having scored seven goals and provided three assists in the Swedish Allsvenskan to help his club become Champions, Ibrahim Sadiq is now wanted by top clubs in Europe.
While he could move in the January transfer window, his club BK Hacken are unwilling to let him go for cheap.
BK Hacken Sports Manager, Martin Ericsson has disclosed that there are a lot of clubs interested in the services of Ghanaian youngster Ibrahim Sadiq.
Since signing for the Swedish club earlier this year, the 22-year-old has excelled and established himself as one of the best players at BK Hacken.
Having scored seven goals and provided three assists in the Swedish Allsvenskan to help his club become Champions, Ibrahim Sadiq is now wanted by top clubs in Europe.
While he could move in the January transfer window, his club BK Hacken are unwilling to let him go for cheap.
Speaking on the interest in the player, BK Hacken Sports Manager Martin Ericsson told Sportbladet “Sadiq has had an enormously strong finish and many clubs have been watching. We have long contracts on these players and on a player like Sadiq we know the value is high. It has to cost if someone wants to buy a young player from us.”
Currently, the Ghanaian forward is under contract with BK Hacken until 2025.
He only needed to make 18 appearances for his new club to court interest from top clubs in Europe.
Speaking on the interest in the player, BK Hacken Sports Manager Martin Ericsson told Sportbladet “Sadiq has had an enormously strong finish and many clubs have been watching. We have long contracts on these players and on a player like Sadiq we know the value is high. It has to cost if someone wants to buy a young player from us.”
Currently, the Ghanaian forward is under contract with BK Hacken until 2025.
He only needed to make 18 appearances for his new club to court interest from top clubs in Europe.
He claims that despite the Central Bank’s quotes of lower interbank rates, the business community finds it difficult to obtain dollars at such prices because of the lack of supply.
Speaking on President Akufo-Addo’s initiatives to stop the cedi’s depreciation and put the economy back on track, Mr. Adongo claimed that the dollar is actually in the hands of undercover traders known as “Abochis.”
“You have over 70 billion that do not belong to the economy chasing the dollar. So the dollar will definitely collapse the cedi and that is caused by the Bank of Ghana.
“When you do that then you need to mop up the excess liquidity. You need to find a way to get that money back to the banking sector and probably back to the Bank of Ghana. In doing so you must continue increasing the policy rate and the policy rate has been increased over the period,” Mr. Adongo stated on Morning Starr with Francis Abban Monday.
“Because he must be able to find a business that gives him 35% of return or margin in order to pay the interest and have something to survive on. The government will have to pay a very huge sum of money to borrow, so the government is now borrowing at 33% for 90 days.
“The end result is that the government doesn’t even have the revenue to service this 33% and it’s back in circles. So the Bank of Ghana having thrown money into the economy to chase the dollar and trying to bring those monies back into the economy is now creating difficulty for the businessman.
“If the Bank of Ghana says the rate is 12% or one percent, do you have the dollar to give at that rate, no, you don’t have. Abochi has the dollar and he says it’s Ghc20. So the Bank of Ghana only has a paper to announce the rate but the Abochi has the dollars and this is where we are,” Mr. Adongo stated.
He was given the honor at the opulent Kempinski Hotel in Accra during the Ghana Business Awards ceremony.
At the Ghana CEO Excellence Awards in 2021, the NPA CEO received a similar honor for his “sterling leadership, success, business excellence, and professionalism.”
The ceremony which sought to celebrate the achievements of individuals and companies who have distinguished themselves in the sector in the year under review also saw the NPA receiving the award for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility of the year.
Organised by Globe Productions Limited, the award ceremony has since its inception in 2018 rewarded excellence and standards in the business sector.
This year’s awards had Mr. Charles Abani, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations and the Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Javier Gutierrez, attending as guests of honour.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, the CEO of Globe Productions, Latif Abubakar, said the winners were selected by an independent advisory board that evaluated the awardees based on criteria listed for each category.
He explained that the benchmarks for shortlisted winners’ performance were based on some key performance indicators (KPIs) in the standards of excellence.
Many petroleum downstream watchers believe Dr Abdul-Hamid has since his appointment as the Chief Executive of NPA taken bold steps which have sanitised the downstream petroleum industry by enforcing the industry regulations for a level playing field.
This assertion was affirmed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Petrosol Ghana Limited, Michael Bozumbil, in a recent interview.
He said that many Ghanaians, who are currently struggling because of rising prices and their meager earnings, were disappointed by the president’s speech.
“While many citizens were expecting expectantly for the president to tell us the measures that the administration is putting in place immediately to curb the hardships, he rather disappointed us and again pressed the blame on Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war,” claims Dr. Iddrisu.
He added: “It’s unfortunate the president hasn’t yet recognised that his government’s mismanagement, reckless borrowing and corruption may be contributing factors to the current hardships Ghanaians are facing.
‘’Available data and analysis done by both local and foreign economists, including the IMF, point to the fact that the country’s rising prices of goods and services can’t be blamed on Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war”. “Rather, domestic factors are the major drivers of the current rising inflation in Ghana.”
Dr Iddrisu also believes the president did not offer immediate solutions in his Sunday speech.
“The president, instead of offering solutions to our current hardships, is, unfortunately, proposing new taxes on the Ghanaian people.
“The president mentioned in his speech that, ‘We have decided to review the reforms in the energy sector, capping of statutory funds, implementation of the exemptions Act and a new property rate regime’”.
He further questioned, “how do you introduce new property tax rates on the already suffering Ghanaians in these hard times?
“Why not cuts on your luxury presidential travels and jet rentals, the 50 V8-presidential convoy, the ballooning presidential staffers at the Jubilee House, and the excess ministries and agencies?”
“Again, many Ghanaians were expecting to hear an immediate solution from the president that tonight would lead to a 10 – 20 per cent reduction in the cooking oil price from the current GHS1,000 by tomorrow, or at least something drastic that would drive down prices of goods and services in the coming days.
“Unfortunately, there was no solution of such offered by the President,” Dr Iddrisu bemoaned.
He also gave examples of how some countries have offered immediate solutions to mitigate hardships on their citizens.
“Other leaders around the world have shown concern [about] rising prices in their countries and have implemented immediate solutions to address them.
“For example, in January 2022, Malaysia announced it will set aside 680 million Malaysian ringgit ($162 million) to ensure the price stabilisation for essential goods.
“Hungary also placed a price stabilisation on food items such as milk, sugar, flour, sunflower oil, and chicken in February 2022.
“Panama established food price stabilisation in August 2022.
“In October 2022, the Bahamas outlined the details of temporary price stabilisation measures on 38 key staples, such as eggs, bread and sanitary towels, with the aim of helping families survive rising prices.
“All of these are immediate solutions such countries are putting in place to reduce hardships faced by their citizens, whilst embarking on the needed fiscal and monetary policies to address the problems in the long run,” the economist cited.
To this end, he is “calling on the president to offer the Ghanaian people immediate solutions to address the current rising prices, review his new property tax statement in his speech and also abolish existing nuisance taxes, so as to cushion Ghanaians in these hard times. Any introduction of new taxes on the Ghanaian people at this very excruciating moment may ‘kill’ many in hunger and destitution.”
Dr Sa-ad Iddrisu is a Ghanaian-born economist based in the United States of America.
He has over the years been extremely vocal on the state of the Ghanaian economy and has made several policy recommendations in the past.
Dr. George Domfeh, an economist and senior research fellow at the University of Ghana, has expressed concern about the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo’s -failure to mention the Finance Minister during his Sunday, October 30, 2022, economic address to the nation.
A few days ago, some lawmakers from the Majority Caucus in Parliament demanded that Mr. Ken Ofori Atta, the finance minister, be fired immediately.
At a news conference in Parliament, the majority group, which was chaired by Andy Appiah Kubi, the member of parliament for Asante Akim-North, urged that the Finance Minister be fired.
Aside from the Finance Minister, the NPP MPs have also called for the removal of the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Dr Charles Adu Boahen.
But President Akufo Addo responding to the calls asked for more time for the embattled Finance Minister to conclude negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before any talks of resignation.
Read Also: Fresh inflows of dollars providing liquidity to foreign exchange market – Akufo-Addo
Also addressing the country on the economy on Sunday, October 2022, President Akufo Addo did not say anything concerning the Finance Minister.
“My fellow Ghanaians, the success of our efforts at diversifying the structure of the Ghanaian economy from an import-based one to a value-added exporting one is what will, in the long term, help strengthen our economy. We are making some progress with the 1D1F but our current situation requires that we take some more stringent measures to discourage the importation of goods that we can and do produce here,” he said.
But speaking on Atinka TV‘s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Mr. George Domfeh said, “One thing I did not hear about was the Finance Minister. I thought he would speak about it but he did not.” And all that he said was just a summary, he did not give details about the measures. He said he would do a review of imports, but he did not give us the details as to what kind of review he would do. “
Meanwhile, he said the President should establish a Committee which includes stakeholders especially rice producers to review the imports as stated and as well update the public on the whole process.
He was also of the belief that the injection of dollars in the system will help stabilise the cedi.
The Minister of Youth and Sports in Ghana, Mustapha Ussif has disclosed that his Ministry has budgeted for the entire 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament duration.
Due to this, the Minister insists that he cannot disclose the budget for the Black Stars until the national team’s campaign at the mundial ends.
“We have budgeted for the entire tournament and where we are going to reach will determine how much we are going to spend.
“So until we finish the tournament we can’t tell you how much we are going to spend but we have a budget estimated for the entire tournament,” Mustapha Ussif said while speaking on the sidelines of the Walk of Legends organised by the Ghana FA over the past weekend.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ghana has been pitted in Group H to face Portugal, Uruguay, and South Korea.
The Black Stars will play their first group game on November 24 against Portugal.
In his national address on October 30, 2022, President Nana Akufo-Addo clarified his infamous “sika mp dede” remark. Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah is the minister of information.
The President described the steps his administration is taking to address the devaluation of the cedi and revive the economy.
The President used a metaphorical approach to reassuring the populace of the government’s commitment to addressing the economic difficulties.
“Fellow Ghanaians, as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find the money. If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down,” he said.
The quote has since gone viral spreading across social media, broadcast and print media.
Explaining the President’s speech, the Information Minister, in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ discussion programme Monday morning, stated that the President’s ‘sika mpɛ dede’ quote was in reference to speculations on the impact of the cedi depreciation.
He noted that some people are spreading false information that people who have their investments with the banks risk losing them, thus resulting in fear and panic.
So the quote by the President, he added, is to invoke calm.
“I think the President said that in reference to the speculation issue. If we don’t let the real purposes for currency trade work and we create panic in the system with people making social media audio that you should remove your money from the bank or else this will happen result in panic and then you will go to the banks and people are trying to do withdrawals to buy dollar because they have seen something on social media or sometimes, you will see news websites [otherwise well-respected news website] has done a story like it happened on Friday that if you have dollar, the government will seize it and give you cedi and that creates panic; so the point the President was making was all those things don’t help,” he said.
When asked why, of all the President said, this is what has most caught the attention of Ghanaians, the Minister responded; “For every address, there are takeaways.”
A two-minute video that went viral on social media and implied that there would be a “haircut on Government bonds” prompted a response from President Akufo-Addo.
Speaking to the country about the steps the government is taking to revive the economy, he added: “I also want to reassure all Ghanaians that no individual or institutional investor—including pension funds—in Government treasury bills or instruments will lose their money as a result of our on-going IMF negotiations.
“There will be no “haircuts”, so I urge all of you to ignore the false rumours, just as, in the banking sector clean-up, Government ensured that the 4.6 million depositors affected by the exercise did not lose their deposits”
Black Stars goalkeepers’ trainer Richard Kingston has expressed absolute believe in the current goalkeepers ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The West African powerhouse are returning to the global showpiece after missing out in Russia 2018, where France emerged winners.
The Black Stars goalkeeping department has been a major area of concern in major tournament in recent times due to inconsistencies in performance.
England-based goalkeeper Jojo Wollacot seems to have grabbed the number one spot, with Richard Ofori, Manaf Nurudeen and Lawrence Ati-Zigi being his deputies.
But speaking to GNA during a ‘Walk with the legends’ organized by the Ghana FA, the former Black Stars shot stopper was optimistic goalkeepers selected for the mundial will deliver.
“The goalkeepers we have now have confidence, and you can see that from the recent games we have played. They want to do something for the nation, and for me, that department is safe. Anybody who gets the chance to be in the post will give off their maximum best”
Ghana has been housed in Group H at the mundial against Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea.
The Black Stars will open their World Cup account against Portugal on November 24 before taking on Uruguay and South Korea respectively.
The biggest soccer mundial has been scheduled for November and December this year, with 32 countries set to battle it out for the covetous trophy in Qatar.
The intended six-year plan is to ensure that the nation restores and maintains a manageable level of debt.
According to data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Ghana’s debt climbed to GHS402.4 billion as of August 2022 from GHS291 billion (76 percent of GDP) in 2020 and GHS351.8 billion (80.1 percent of GDP) by the end of 2021.
In his address on the economy on Sunday evening, President Akufo-Addo said the budget for the 2022 fiscal year had been thrown out of gear, disrupting the balance of payments and debt sustainability.
He explained that “the basic problem we face is that we are not making as much money as we need to spend, and what little money we do make is going to pay for the debts we have contracted to fund the development projects we must have.”
“To restore and sustain debt sustainability, we plan to reduce our total public debt to GDP ratio to some 55 per cent in present value terms by 2028, with the servicing of our external debt pegged at not more than 18 per cent of our annual revenue also by 2028,” the President said.
Among others, he said the Government would continue to cut the salaries of political office holders and discretionary expenditures of Ministries, Departments and by 30 per cent in 2023.
“We are committed to improving the revenue collection effort, from the current tax-revenue to GDP ratio of 13 per cent to between 18-20 per cent, to be competitive with our peers in the West Africa Region,” President Akufo-Addo assured.
He also said the Government would review the standards needed for imports into the country in six months and review the management of foreign exchange reserves to support economic growth.
He said the Government, through the support of the banking sector, would intensify the manufacturing of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles to reduce its importation.
President Akufo-Addo encouraged traders to ensure that goods in shops and marketplaces were produced and manufactured in Ghana.
“That is why we have to support our farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products and guarantee a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens and the business community,” he said.
“I have total confidence in our ability to work our way out of our current difficulties. We are not afraid of hard work. We will triumph, as we have triumphed many times before,” the President added.
The Awards Secretariat has announced the nominees for all 19 of this year’s competitive categories for the Ghana Energy Awards (GEA), which will be presented in 2022.
The 90-day nominations window for application submissions, which began with the official media announcement on July 14, has now ended, leading to the publication of the candidates’ list.
The theme for the sixth Ghana Energy Awards is “Global Decarbonization: A Just and Equitable Energy Transition in Ghana.”
The Ministry of Energy, the World Energy Council Ghana, and Mazars have all given their approval. It is being put on by the Energy Media Group in collaboration with GP Business Consulting.
Over 100 nominees across the petroleum and power subsectors of the energy industry are featured for the competitive categories for this year and include the prestigious Energy Personality of the Year (Male and Female), Chief Executive of the Year (Power and Petroleum), Visionary Leadership Award, and the Eco-Innovation Business Award.
Others are the Outstanding Energy Management Award, and Sustainable Energy Partnership of the Year, Energy Institution of the Year, Energy Company of the Year, Brand of the Year, Rising Star Award, Energy Reporter of the Year, among others.
Toward the main event next month, the Awards Secretariat is undertaking a number of activities, including Courtesy Calls on industry partners; Nominees’ Announcement; Site Visitation to Prospective Nominees’ Project Sites to ascertain the accuracy of claims made by nominees on the ground. These activities make the GEA one of few award schemes which insist on field verification to ensure awards won by players at the close of the review period are duly deserved.
Industry partners for this year’s GEA include the Volta River Authority, Ghana Gas, Bui Power Authority, COPEC-Ghana, National Petroleum Authority, Meinergy Technology, Sunon Asogli Power, GOIL, Energy Commission, PURC, ECG, Tullow Ghana, BOST, and Hendan Transport and Logistics.
For more information on the awards, tickets and sponsorship, please call 0559300631, or visit the awards website www.ghanaenergyawards.com.
Mohammed Abdul-Kudus, the National Petroleum Authority‘s director of communications, said that his organization had permitted Oil Marketing Companies to change rates outside the allotted pricing periods.
According to him, “Any time the dollar fluctuates, it affects the character of the pricing given that the products are actually bought from the world market in dollars.”
He further said: “Yes, we ought to have been operating with the two weeks window framework, but because of the volatility of the cedi against the dollar, and the fact that you ought to be a little flexible with what will be established with the windows within which the prices are supposed to be varied.”
According to Mr. John Abdulai Jinapor, a member of the minority caucus in the Ghanaian parliament and the member for the Northern Region’s Yapei Kusawgu constituency, fuel prices increased by over 200 percent (200%) between January 1 and November 1, 2022.
He maintains that there is no explanation for the enormous increase that Ghanaians are seeing at the various gas stations.
On the GTV Breakfast Show, he made this comment during a segment titled “Minority’s Take on President Akufo-Nationally Addo’s Televised Address on Sunday, October 30, 2022.”
Mr. John Jinapor explained that crude prices on the international market have been stable for some time, however, due to the free fall of the Cedi, fuel prices keep going up every minute.
“So to have a 200% increment in fuel prices within 10 months is unprecedented and unacceptable. Increments in fuel products have a cascading effect on everything” he added.
The Yapei Kusawgu lawmaker, stated that everybody in Ghana today, knows that there are real economic issues.
Heartstopper star Kit Connor has revealed on Twitter that he is bisexual – but suggested he only came out because he was forced to do so.
The English actor posted: “I’m bi. Congrats for forcing an 18-year-old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show. Bye.”
Connor plays Nick in the hit Netflix love story about two teenage boys.
He has previously spoken about social media users “pressuring us to come out when maybe we’re not ready”.
The star, who has also appeared in Elton John biopic Rocketman and the TV adaptation of His Dark Materials, tweeted in May: “Twitter is so funny man. Apparently some people on here know my sexuality better than I do…”
He then told the Reign with Josh Smith podcast there was “a danger” to speculating on social media.
Image source, NetflixImage caption, Connor plays Nick (left) who forms a friendship-turned-romance with Charlie, played by Joe Locke
He said: “In the cast, we’re all 18 and we have a few people in their early 20s, and even with those older members of the cast, we’re all so young, and to start speculating about our sexualities and maybe pressuring us to come out when maybe we’re not ready…
“I feel like I’m perfectly confident and comfortable in my sexuality, but I don’t feel the need to… I’m not too big on labels and things like that. I’m not massive about that and I don’t feel like I need to label myself, especially not publicly.”
He added: “That tweet was slightly calling them out, but I honestly found it a little bit funny how they just make assumptions.
“It’s 2022. It feels a bit strange to make assumptions about a person’s sexuality just based on hearing their voice or seeing their appearance. I feel like that’s a very interesting, slightly problematic, assumption to make.”
Some social media users had accused Connor of “queerbaiting” after he was seen holding hands with actress Maia Reficco, his co-star in indie film A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow.
Queerbaiting refers to when someone claims to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community, sometimes for publicity, when they are not.
Several co-stars and Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman sent messages of support.
Oseman wrote: “I truly don’t understand how people can watch Heartstopper and then gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging based on stereotypes. I hope all those people are embarrassed. Kit you are amazing.”
Joe Locke, who plays Nick’s boyfriend in the show, wrote: “You owe nothing to anyone. I’m so proud of you my friend.”
Sebastian Croft, who plays Ben in the show, tweeted: “Kit Connor, the world doesn’t deserve you. Love you my friend.”
Kizzie Edgell, who plays Darcy, wrote: “i love u kit i’m sorry this has been so disgustingly rough on you. been treated so unfairly.” Reficco tweeted a simple heart emoji.
Other celebrities also responded, including doctor and TV personality Ranj Singh, who wrote: “I wish this tweet was never necessary. Hope you’re OK. Sending love.”
Fans also rallied around, with one writing: “This is overdue but it has to be said. The Heartstopper cast are not your friends or your family. You don’t know them. You just don’t. You are not entitled to personal information about them to gratify yourself. You aren’t entitled to anything about their life. Nothing.”
The 32-year-old claims the number one spot with the single Anti-Hero, whose chorus, “It’s me. Hi! I’m the problem, it’s me,” has quickly become a Tik Tok trend.
The rest of the top 10 includes album tracks like Lavender Haze, Maroon, Snow On The Beach, Bejewelled and Karma.
All 13 of the songs on Midnights’ standard edition make the top 15, interrupted only by Sam Smith’s Unholy at 11 and Steve Lacy’s Bad Habits at 12.
The seven bonus tracks from Midnights’ deluxe “3am edition” appear between numbers 20 and 45.
Swift took fans by surprise when she announced the new album in the closing moments of the 2022 MTV VMAs in New Jersey in August.
She has described the record as the story of “13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life” and “a journey through terrors and sweet dreams”.
It sees the star return to the pop palette of her pre-pandemic albums, after the homespun indie-folk of Evermore and Folklore, both released in 2020.
But the subdued sounds of those records persists, and her late-night tales are painted in more muted tones than hits like Shake It Off and Lover.
Part of its success is due to a clever marketing campaign, which saw the album released in multiple collectible formats – including four vinyl editions which combine to make a clock.
But Billboard reported that Swift’s Top 10 takeover would have been achieved by streams alone, before sales and radio play were counted.
Figure caption, Warning: Third party content may contain adverts
Midnights debuted at number one in the US album chart, selling 1.4 million copies – with more than one million of those on CD and vinyl, an almost unheard of figure in the streaming era.
The album similarly tops the UK chart with sales of 204,000, making it the first album to crack the 200,000 sales barrier since Adele’s 30 just under a year ago.
Surprisingly, that figure represents the biggest first-week sales of Swift’s UK chart career. Her previous best was for the album 1989, which shifted 90,300 copies in 2014.
However, she cannot replicate her domination of the US singles countdown – due to a UK chart rule that only allows three songs by one artist to appear in the Top 100 at the same time.
Without that restriction, Swift would have had eight of this week’s top 10 singles. Instead, she has to content herself with being number one (Anti-Hero), three (Lavender Haze) and four (Snow On The Beach).
Last week’s number one, Sam Smith’s Unholy, clings on at number two, denying Swift a clean sweep at the top of the charts.
Billboard magazine said Swift’s latest album had helped her break several records.
She now boasts the most top 10 hits among women in the chart’s history, with her total of 40 surpassing Madonna’s 38. Amongst all acts, she trails only Drake, who has 59 top 10s.
Midnights is also the first album in history to spawn 10 top 10 singles.
Swift also broke records for the most streams of a single album in one day on Spotify, Apple and Amazon Music.
In the UK, Midnights sold 62,000 copies on vinyl alone – the highest weekly sale for any vinyl album in the 21st century.
The intended six-year plan is to ensure that the nation restores and maintains a manageable level of debt.
According to data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Ghana’s debt climbed to GHS402.4 billion as of August 2022 from GHS291 billion (76 percent of GDP) in 2020 and GHS351.8 billion (80.1 percent of GDP) by the end of 2021.
In his address on the economy on Sunday evening, President Akufo-Addo said the budget for the 2022 fiscal year had been thrown out of gear, disrupting the balance of payments and debt sustainability.
“To restore and sustain debt sustainability, we plan to reduce our total public debt to GDP ratio to some 55 per cent in present value terms by 2028, with the servicing of our external debt pegged at not more than 18 per cent of our annual revenue also by 2028,” the President said.
He said he was confident that with a united front and support for the Government’s macroeconomic measures to the current economic challenges, “we will emerge victorious from our current difficulties.”
Among others, he said the Government would continue to cut the salaries of political office holders and discretionary expenditures of Ministries, Departments and by 30 per cent in 2023.
“We are committed to improving the revenue collection effort, from the current tax-revenue to GDP ratio of 13 per cent to between 18-20 per cent, to be competitive with our peers in the West Africa Region,” President Akufo-Addo assured.
He said the Government, through the support of the banking sector, would intensify the manufacturing of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles to reduce its importation.
President Akufo-Addo encouraged traders to ensure that goods in shops and marketplaces were produced and manufactured in Ghana.
“That is why we have to support our farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products and guarantee a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens and the business community,” he said.
“I have total confidence in our ability to work our way out of our current difficulties. We are not afraid of hard work. We will triumph, as we have triumphed many times before,” the President added.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been ordered by North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to apologize to Ghanaians for the country’s current economic problems.
The MP blamed the president for the current situation of the economy in an interview with Accra’s Asempa FM, which GhanaWeb was listening to.
“After taking office and proclaiming that I support large government, I appointed the most ministers in the history of this nation, I was fiscally irresponsible, I went on a borrowing binge where some of my appointees stood to benefit, I had conflicts of interest in that borrowing, and now the World Bank tells us that the debt to GDP ratio by the end of this year will be 104%.
“The President should have apologised to the people of Ghana for what we have been put through,” Ablakwa stated.
Ghana’s economy is currently under pressure, which has resulted in an increase in the cost of living as well as what some have described as ‘galloping inflation.’
The country’s currency is also depreciating against the US dollar and other major trading currencies around the world.
The government hope in securing an IMF bailout to help boost the economy.
In order to ensure that they have an effective, unrestricted trade balance with the other 54 member nations of AFCFTA, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) has worked with some producers and exporters of commodities in the North East Region.
Shea butter, rice, watermelon, exporters, potential exporters, and other producers of exportable items are all being involved in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, whose headquarters are in Ghana, to establish an environment that will allow them to produce more for export without tariff obstacles.
The essence of the engagement is to apprise producers and exporters in the region for them to produce more exportable goods to any of the 54 member countries under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) to expand the production base and build human capacity.
The engagement is also to ensure that the exporters are given certification for effective free trade with members of the AFCFTA to dilate the business relationships with these exporters without challenges when it comes to clearing goods at the ports.
The National Exporters Development Strategy (NEDS) will ensure that exporters in the various districts of Ghana are sensitized and encouraged to produce more exportable goods to improve the business environment.
Speaking after the program, Alhaji Yakubu Yussif, AFCFTA representative from the National Coordinating Office in Accra asserted that the meeting with the producers and the exporters is an opportunity for them to widen their tentacles in the production sector to create more jobs in the country after exporting the goods.
“We are lucky that we have the headquarters in Ghana, so we are here to build the capacity of our exporters and create awareness of our Africa Continental Free Trade Area. It is a very big single market that is made up of 54 African countries now. We are looking at the strength of 1.2 billion people,” Alhaji Yabuku said.
“We are also looking at how we can increase the export net for Ghanaian exporters so that the country can get more revenue in terms of foreign currencies we yield from the exports,” he added.
The Ghana Exports Promotion Authority zonal director at the Tamale office, Seidu Saaka Bakari also stressed that “We are here today, Ghana Exports Promotion Authority on our National Exports Development Strategy. The strategy has three important pillars; We need to expand our production base, improve the business environment, and build a human capacity,” Seidu Bakari said.
He reiterated that exporters need to obtain documentation and other things before they can export goods.
“Documentation and other processing before you can do your exports, we have to improve upon the documentation for the business people to have their way cleared,” he added.
Producers of raw materials and exporters in the area who participated in the program at the Nii Dentist Hotel in Walewale on 24 October 2022 assured the organizers of the program of their support.
Mr Tinkov founded the online Tinkoff Bank, one of Russia’s largest lenders, with about 20 million customers.
In an Instagram post, he said: “I can’t and won’t be associated with a fascist country that started a war with their peaceful neighbour.”
Few Russian tycoons have criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in public.
An independent Russian news source, Sota Vision, tweeted a photo of Mr Tinkov’s certificate showing his Russian citizenship terminated, as well as his tirade on Instagram against President Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The original post vanished after it was published, but Mr Tinkov has since posted again on the social media site and blamed “Kremlin trolls” for the disappearance.
In the latest post, he also said he was taking legal action to remove his name from the bank, explaining that he does not want to be linked to “the bank that collaborates with killers and blood”.
He is reported to be living in London, but is subject to UK sanctions, like many other members of Russia’s business elite.
“I hope more prominent Russian businessmen will follow me, so it weakens Putin’s regime and his economy, and put him eventually to defeat,” Mr Tinkov’s original post said.
He continued: “I hate Putin’s Russia, but love all Russians who are clearly against this crazy war!”
In April, Mr Tinkov castigated the Kremlin in even stronger terms, condemning what he called a regime based on nepotism and servility.
“The Kremlin bureaucrats are shocked that not just they, but also their children now won’t travel to the Mediterranean in summer. Businessmen are trying to save the remains of their property,” he said.
The Western sanctions on him and other top Russian business figures – known as “oligarchs” – include travel bans, asset freezes and impounding of planes and yachts. President Putin’s political and military power relies heavily on the support of billionaires, who got rich through Kremlin connections.
Also in April, Mr Tinkov sold his family’s 35% stake in the company he founded – TCS Group Holding, based in Cyprus. The buyer was one of Russia’s richest men, Vladimir Potanin, head of the mining giant Norilsk Nickel.
TCS’s businesses under the Tinkoff brand include banking, insurance and mobile phones.
Media reports say another Russian banker, Nikolay Storonsky, has also given up his Russian citizenship. He has British citizenship and founded the British fintech start-up Revolut. He condemned the war in Ukraine in a blog post earlier this year, highlighting his Ukrainian family connections.
Earlier this month, billionaire Israeli-Russian investor Yuri Milner announced he had renounced his Russian citizenship. He left Russia in 2014 and lives in the US.
According to Mr. John Abdulai Jinapor, a member of the minority caucus in the Ghanaian parliament and the member for the Northern Region’s Yapei Kusawgu constituency, fuel prices increased by over 200 percent (200%) between January 1 and November 1, 2022.
He maintains that there is no explanation for the enormous increase that Ghanaians are seeing at the various gas stations.
On the GTV Breakfast Show, he made this comment during a segment titled “Minority’s Take on President Akufo Addo’s -Nationally Televised Address on Sunday, October 30, 2022.”
Mr. John Jinapor explained that crude prices on the international market have been stable for some time, however, due to the free fall of the Cedi, fuel prices keep going up every minute.
“So to have a 200% increment in fuel prices within 10 months is unprecedented and unacceptable. Increments in fuel products have a cascading effect on everything” he added.
The Yapei Kusawgu lawmaker, stated that everybody in Ghana today, knows that there are real economic issues.
Seth Terkper, a former finance minister, has asked the government to inform Ghanaians of its comprehensive debt restructuring strategy in order to put a stop to market rumors.
He asserts that a thorough document outlining the government’s debt restructuring program will increase investor trust, despite the president of Ghana’s assertion that there won’t be any haircuts on investments.
“…To stop some of the speculations, we need to know precisely what is on the table. We were told that it is an enhanced program; isn’t it time for the citizens to know what their government is putting on the table so that we can speak to it? This whole confusion over whether there is going to be a haircut or not,… it is not speculation because that is what the market is asking. If there are questions which the market, those who gave the money to you, including domestically (those who have invested in Treasury Bills), those from who we’ve borrowed money, they are concerned about what will happen to their money because you are not talking about the risk of default.”
Mr Terkper added: “I think what we need is the agenda on the table so that we can be certain. And this is why ex-President Mahama has always called for national discussion and consensus. I think that it is now justified because we are told that it will take 2028 before our debt will be sustainable, and as I’ve said, by that time, the President of the current administration will have been long gone.”
Music icon Diddy has replaced Kanye Weston the list of 2022’s wealthiest hip-hop artists, according to a new report from former Forbes editor Zack O’Malley.
Ye was in second place on the list of hip-hop highest earners earlier this year, with $250 million in earnings projected for 2021, but after his contract with Adidas was terminated due to his anti-Semitic comments, he’s dropped to third place in terms of net worth.
He was said to be worth $2 billion earlier this year. Diddy is now in second place, having previously trailed behind Ye with a total net worth of $1 billion.
His Cîroc partnership with Diageo is said to account for the majority of his wealth, but other assets such as Revolt and DeLeón Tequila have certainly helped; he made $90 million last year.
Kanye West’s net worth is now estimated to be around $500 million, with the loss of his Adidas deal becoming the most significant contributor to his decline.
Due to the retention of his 5 percent stake in Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS shapewear line, and rights to his master recordings and music publishing, Ye remains wealthy. He also still owns the Yeezy brand, even though Adidas remains “the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well previous new colorways under the partnership.”
A report from Forbes earlier this month suggested that Ye’s net worth had dropped to $400 million after the Adidas deal was terminated. Upon his return to Instagram, he seemingly confirmed such reports and said he “lost 2 billion dollars in one day.”
Additionally, Jay-Z remains in his spot as the wealthiest Hip Hop artist in North America, with a $1.5 billion net worth.
He holds a different opinion from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who in his speech to the nation on Sunday, October 30, unequivocally affirmed that investors’ cash in various public projects would not be lost.
As the administration works to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the president underlined that measures would be made to safeguard citizens’ investments (IMF).
“I also want to assure all Ghanaians that no individual or institutional investor, including pension funds, in government treasury bills or instruments will lose their money, as a result of our ongoing IMF negotiations. There will be no ‘haircuts’ so I urge all of you to ignore the false rumours, just as, in the banking sector cleanup, government ensured that the 4.6 million depositors affected by the exercise did not lose their deposits,” President Akufo-Addo said.
But speaking on Accra-based Joy FM, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, indicated that there would definitely be a ‘haircut’ as Ghana awaits a bailout from the IMF.
“I don’t know the basis the President made that statement and if you run the maths, it doesn’t add up and I will be surprised that Ghana will get an IMF programme without a haircut.
“I can say on authority that there would be some form of a haircut. Clearly, someone is not briefing the President properly or probably the writing did not come out well. ‘The President goofed’, he shouldn’t have said it in a categorical manner because what it has done is that, it has sent additional uncertainties to the market clearly indicating that someone is not on top of his job.
“I do not know how our debt will be sustainable by the year 2028 brings to over 100 per cent…clearly indicating that we are to [remove] 50 per cent of debt without a debt restructuring, it is impossible,” Dr. Ato Forson explained.
Fitch claims that the government must choose between drastically increasing tax revenue or drastically cutting spending.
Fitch Solutions went on to say that “the government basically only has two options at this point to improve the fiscal position; either capital expenditure or considerably expanding the countries revenue base.”
The firm noted that whatever step the government decides to take will be difficult therefore, “they are no easy choices for the government”.
“Expenditure has risen and this is driven by interest expenditure. Ghana took a lot of expensive debt and continue to borrow during the pandemic and this means interest payments are very elevated now,” it noted.
“They account for about 55% of total government fiscal intake, keeping expenditure elevated. Given the rigid nature of Ghana’s expenditure profile, the government cannot easily reform spending resulting in that wide fiscal deficit,” the firm added.
“As part of an IMF deal, however, we expect that the government will have to implement fiscal consolidation measures in 2023 including the widening of the tax base. We expect that the commitment to fiscal consolidation will lead to gradual improvement in public finances,” Fitch added.
“And we also expect the government to be quite eager to meet the IMF target as the authorities will aim to restore investor sentiments and so regain access to international capital markets,” it concluded.
It is no secret that Davido has other kids with different baby mamas, however, he is known always to be a present dad in his children’s lives, spoiling them with gifts.
On one occasion, he was hanging out with his children and was photographed carrying Ifeanyi while his other kids looked by during a photo moment.
Before Ifeanyi’s birthday, the little boy showed off his dance skills in his father’s house as a song played on TV.
Capturing the moment, Davido couldn’t help but hail his little boy who became shy when other people in the room noticed him. Ifeanyi was an energetic kid, and OBO was proud of him.
While visiting Dubai with his mum, she shared cute photos of the little boy swimming and having fun in a swimming pool with her.
Davido on some occasions couldn’t help but gush over how well his son was doing during swimming lessons. The music star carried the little boy into the pool and gave him instructions on what to do.
He suggested that downsizing the government would be more wise than the 30% wage cut the President imposed earlier this year and recently confirmed will continue till 2023 due to economic concerns.
The engineer by trade known as “Tarzan” explained his viewpoints in an interview with Joy FM on October 31, 2022. He also referred to some government agencies as “irrelevant” and in need of being abolished.
“Everybody keeps talking about [the] downsizing of government, the government is far too large. Too many ministers, irrelevant development authorities, too many district assemblies and this issue of saying that Ministers will continue to give up 30% of salary, it is a completely useless thing to push.
“Because it is not the nominal salary of the appointee that matters, it is the on-cost to the nation,” he stressed citing the fact that all of the appointees will be entitled to accommodation, security, PAs, etc., which will affect the cost of running the government.
“Downsizing the government actually makes a substantial difference in the expenditure that we are having,” he added.
What Akufo-Addo said about salary cuts in Oct. 30 address:
In April, after the Cabinet retreat of the first quarter, and recognising the deteriorating macroeconomy, my government announced a thirty percent (30%) cut in budgeted discretionary expenditures, and a thirty percent (30%) cut in salaries of the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs and political office holders, amongst other measures,” he said.
In laying out some measures to help alleviate the current hardships, he submitted: “We have decided to review the reforms in the energy sector, capping of statutory funds, implementation of the exemptions Act and a new property rate regime.
“We have decided also to continue with the policy of a thirty percent (30%) cut in the salaries of political office holders including the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs, and SOE appointees in 2023, just as we will continue with the thirty percent (30%) cut in discretionary expenditures of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.”
He thinks that by providing purposeful support to the agricultural and industrial sectors, Ghana’s current economic problems can be resolved in the short to medium term.
The agricultural and industrial sectors need to be remodeled to focus on district commercial farmers and specific industries, according to Prof. Quartey, the director of the Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER).
“Government’s economic blueprint for the next year should be heavy on the two sectors as part of a grand effort to create more employment, boost food production and enhance local manufacturing of products so we can reduce dependency on foreign exchange for imports.”
The ISSER boss further said government, in its presentation of the 2023 budget statement, must dedicate funds set aside to support the agricultural and industrial sectors of the economy.
Touching on government’s efforts to mobilise domestic revenue and achieve its targets, Professor Quartey advocated for an aggressive approach and implementation of the revised tax exemption law.
While calling for a reduction in the size of government and a reshuffle among ministers to restore confidence in the economy, the ISSER Director urged for the reintroduction of road tolls via the electronic pass system.
The Minister claims that the action is a part of government attempts to lower the high cost of living in the nation.
On Monday, October 31, 2022, Oppong-Nkrumah declared during the “Nyansapo” breakfast program on Kumasi’s OTEC 102.9 FM that the government will be enhancing local businesses’ capacity to produce more products and employment locally over the following six months.
He added that excessive importation of certain products particularly foods that can be produced in Ghana will be banned after local producers begin to feed the economy with the needed capacity
“We have already acknowledged that the present economic woes of the country were a result of the high rate of importation and demand for foreign goods, especially food items”.
“That is why the government has decided to ban the importation of certain goods such as poultry products, rice, fish, and cooking oil among others,” he said.
He noted that the high taste for foreign goods was seriously affecting local production adding that government is taking urgent steps to control the situation.
In order to prevent driving Ghana into an economic crisis, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo vowed that his administration will ensure the judicious management of the country’s economy.
The President stated, “My Government continues to show its commitment and resolve to making sure that the habits and transgressions of prior managers of our public finances are not visited on this or future generations.”
The president demanded that the government make sure the nation maintains the upward trend it has been on since 2017.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has emphasized his government’s commitment to prudently manage the Ghanaian economy and to ensure that it does not slip back into the economic mess that was bequeathed to him by the previous administration.
“My Government continues to demonstrate its commitment and determination to ensuring that the habits and sins of past managers of our public finances are no longer visited on this or future generations”, the President said.
Speaking at the 8th edition Ghana Economic Forum organised in Accra on Monday, the President said his administration has over the past three years in office been preoccupied with implementing policies that has since set the country on a path of prosperity and to the realisation of the broader vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid.
The President noted that Since 2017, the Ghanaian economy has been growing consistently above 7%, and, in the last two years, has been amongst the world’s fastest-growing economies.
“Indeed, the IMF projects Ghana’s economy, this year, to have one of the world’s highest growth rates of 7.6%. Inflation for September stood at 7.6%, in single digits, the lowest in over two decades. Our exports are growing healthily; our trade balance account, for the first time in more than a decade, recorded a surplus in 2017, maintained it in 2018, and we expect to maintain the surplus for this year as well. We have brought the fiscal deficit down to 4.5%. Our external reserves, as at June 2019, stood at 4.3 months of import cover.”
The President added that due to the prudent economic policy interventions instituted by his administration, the country’s macroeconomic indices are pointing in the right direction, “and it comes as no surprise, therefore, that, today, Ghana is the leading recipient of foreign direct investment in West Africa”.
Furthermore, the President said the policy interventions and prudent management of the resources have helped his government to finance his Government’s flagship policies and programmes such as the Free Senior High School, which is currently enrolling some 1.2 million pupils; the programme for “Planting for Food and Jobs”; which has led to the revival of Ghanaian agriculture, bringing in its wake a bumper harvest in 2018 and exports of significant quantities of food stuffs to Ghana’s neighbours, with the same expected for 2019.
The President cited the 1-District-1-Factory initiative; the 1-Village-1-Dam policy; the restoration of allowances of nursing and teacher trainees, that were scrapped by the Mahama government; the employment of one hundred thousand (100,000) graduates under the Nation Builders Corp; and the recruitment of sixty thousand (60,000) young men and women under the Youth in Afforestation Programme as examples of some of the policies that have been implemented since he assumed office.
The president said, the gains made in in achieving financial and economic stability should serve as the foundations for the private sector to build on.
“The actual building will have to be constructed by the private sector, because my Government believes in the primacy of the private sector, and we will continue to improve the business environment, and offer the critical support needed for the private sector to survive and thrive”.
Dr Ernest Addison, Governor, Bank of Ghana in his remarks said the Central bank remains committed to the broader framework for a sustained stabilised fiscal regime and public expenditure management.
Adding that the policy initiatives and their implementation has since been yielding the right results.
Chief Executive Officer, of the Business and Financial Times, Dr Edith Dankwa who spoke at the forum, emphasised the role of the media providing the platform for critical minds to deliberate on measures that would help transform the Ghanaian economy.
She said although the fundamentals of the Ghanaian economy has been tested by both internal and external factors in the past, it has remained resilient and thus the need to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure that the fundamentals are sustained.
Managing Director of Barclays Bank Ms Abena Osei-Poku commended government for creating the forum for private sector engagements on moving the country forward.
She said the Forum coming at a time of The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), gives the country the leverage to harness the potentials therein for the rapid development of the continent at large.
She added that steps taken by the Central Bank to clean the banking sector, has helped strengthened the financial sector to engineer the needed growth.
News broke about a man who lost his life after being involved in a physical fight with a driver’s ‘mate’ over a GH¢2.00 lorry fare increment and many netizens have been reacting to this unfortunate incident. Ghanaian musician Emmanuel Amoah Donkor, widely known as Phaize has also jumped unto his social media platform to react to the sad news.
According to the young artiste, these are some of the reasons why he composed his hit single ‘Metu Afri Ghana’, a song that summarizes all the current economic hardship and the frustrations of the Ghanaian youth.
Phaize believes this unfortunate incident is a representation of the current economic unrest. He believes no man should ever lose his life over money and most especially as little as GH¢2.00 fare increment.
“This and many other reasons is why I want to leave Ghana” he posted on his Facebook timeline.
The deceased was believed to have refused to pay the new fare and engaged in a heated argument with the driver and his ‘mate’, resulting in a physical exchange that caused his life.
Phaize is a young Ghanaian musician inspired to write music not to just entertain but also, to educate, inform and be the voice of the voiceless.
About 80% of loans were recovered after the properties of loan defaulters were seized, according to Mr. Stephen Amoah, the former Chief Executive of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC).
He claimed that the worth of the things recovered from defaulters, including vehicles, tricycles, and outboard motors, was around GH$60 million.
He said they were able to chalk that feat after moving in to seize properties of defaulters.
Speaking to Winston Amoah on 3FM’s Sunrise, Mr. Amoah noted that core parameters to appraise MASLOC “include recoveries in terms of percentage, management of excess liquidity and executing all these on a well-established ICT system”.
He said under his administration, items like cars, tricycles, and outboard motors amongst others retrieved from defaulters amounted to about 60 million cedis in terms of value.
Mr. Amoah admitted that the social intervention programme “was set up hurriedly and was under-performing for about 8 years”. He said although the concept was the best to help local entrepreneurs properly define their value chain, “the NPP rushed in putting up the policy”.
He said MASLOC would be restructured, noting that a well-structured programme “would do a great deal of good to the society and improve the standard of living”.
Any person wishing to exchange one currency for another must provide a voter identity card, passport, national identification card, or driver’s license, according to Bank of Ghana regulations from 2018.
The purpose of the action was to protect the nation from financial crimes and create an audit trail of the transactions made by FX traders.
A visit to the forex bureau to exchange one currency for another will require one to provide valid identification including voter’s ID, passport, national identification card, or driver’s license.
The directives according to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) are aimed at providing an audit trail of the forex traders’ business history and secure the country against financial crimes.
The central bank also wants forex bureau operators to complete and submit a licence renewal questionnaire two months before the expiration of their licences with the questionnaire expected to be submitted together with a copy of a tax clearance certificate.
A copy of insurance certificate and extract of audited accounts, bank statements and proof of filing of annual returns at the Registrar General’s Department are also expected to be attached to the required documents.
The central bank also directs all purchases and sales of forex to be captured electronically and receipted accordingly by licensed Forex Bureaux.
They are also to adhere to the Forex Bureau Regulations issued in accordance with the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723), and the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2008 (Act 749).
Failure to heed the instructions will lead to penalties including pecuniary sanctions, suspension, and revocation of license in accordance with the Foreign Exchange Act 2006, (Act 723), the released notice held.
The Heads of Academic Units are permitted to visit their offices once per week while the strike is in effect, according to the four labor unions in Ghana’s public universities.
The unions said in a statement on Tuesday, 1 November 2022, “Heads of Academic Units can attend their offices to do small administrative chores once a week, preferably on Mondays.”
However, it advised its members that “no meetings, whether virtual or actual, should be scheduled during the period of the strike action.”
It disclosed that services, including: “Skeletal Staff at the Finance Directorates to Process Salaries; Security; Basic School; Health Services; and Maintenance Services (at least once a week cleaning, emptying of trash and garbage cans and weeding),” will continue to run during the strike.
“We are not happy with our industrial action, but it is our last resort in the face of the brute show of Government arbitrariness and insensitivity in handling our plight during these hard times,” the unions indicated.
The strike action by the four worker unions to demand better conditions of service entered its third week, Monday, 31 October 2022.
Last week, the unions served notice that the strike will still continue.
The unions disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, 25 October 2022, co-signed by the National President of UTAG, Prof Solomon Nunoo; GAUA National President, Dr Beth Ofei-Awuku; National Chairman of SSA-UoG Mr Isaac Donkor and National Chairman TEWU-Gh Mr Sulemana Abdul-Rahman.
According to the statement, the National Leaders of UTAG, GAUA, SSA-UoG, TEWU-GH, and FUSSAG “attended a meeting with the Employer on Wednesday, 19 October 2022, following an invitation by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
“Unfortunately, the outcome of the meeting was not favourable as the Employer was adamant to restore the Vehicle Maintenance and Off Campus Allowances to the adjusted ex-pump rate of GHS10.99.”
It revealed that: “Later that afternoon, the National Leaders attended a hearing at the National Labour Commission (NLC) where the Commission further entreated the parties to continue engaging as per the directive captured in its letter dated 20 October 2022.
“However, considering the facts and evidence before it, the national leaders are of the considered opinion that the Commission should have had no difficulty in making a definite order against the Employer to pay amounts on figures agreed and established by convention.”
It added: “Thus, the National Executive Committees/Councils of the Labour Unions, at their individual meetings, resolved to continue with the ongoing strike action until further notice.”
Miss Sarah Lotus Asare, Founder of the Girls Box who doubles as an Executive Secretary of the World Boxing Council (WBC) Cares Africa, has commended the young girls who took part in the 2022 edition of the boxing tournament.
Girls Boxing tournament is an annual boxing event to give young girls interested in the sport the opportunity to showcase their talents and learn new things.
This year’s program which started at the Wisdom Boxing Gym ended at the Accra Sports Stadium last Sunday.
In an interview with the media, Miss Asare said she was impressed with the performance put up by the young girls, though some of them were fighting for the first time in the ring.
“I’m really happy with the performance of the ladies. That is my most important priority for today, a lot of them were fighting intelligently and actively and I have discovered talents.
“I’m also grateful to the officials, the clubs that are training these boxers as well as the media who came to cover the event.”
She said some of the ladies would be selected to represent the country in an upcoming international event in Benin.
“Based on their performance here some of the boxers would be selected for an international event in Benin, before the 2023 Africa games in Ghana.”
Dr. Ofosu-Asare, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for Accra 2023 congratulated the young girls and pledged to continue its support for the development of female boxing.
“I want to assure you girls that we at the LOC would continue to support female boxing and as we all know next year Ghana will be hosting the rest of Africa, we need you girls to win medals for us.
“Ghana has never hosted the African Games before and this would be our first time hosting it and boxing is one of the sports that we count on to win medals for the country, we need you more come 2023 August,” he added.
He added “people are complaining that there is economic hardship so we should pull out of the event, I want to assure you that the government would not do that because hosting this tournament would boost the economy.
Mr. Evans Bernie John, the Chairman of the Greater Accra Amateur Boxing also congratulated the young girls and urged them to continue training as they were the future champions to represent Ghana.
Elikplimi Komla Agbloyor, an associate professor at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), has encouraged the government to urgently implement a backup strategy in case the IMF deal falls through.
Commenting on the President Akufo-Addo’s speech to the nation economic , Mr. Agbloyor suggested that the anticipated IMF funds might not be sufficient, necessitating the need for what he called a “Plan B.”
“We are anticipating roughly $3 billion in dollar inflows into the economy if we are successful in reaching an IMF agreement by the end of the year.
This ought to prevent the cedi from falling further.
“One of the causes of increases in the cost of living or inflation is the depreciation of the cedi. So if we can secure an arrangement with the IMF, then that will help in reducing the cost of living. It should also make a recession less likely or more bearable,” Mr. Agbloyor explained on the Morning Starr with Francis Abban Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
He continued: “However, what I was expecting the President to do is we should have a plan B. For example, in case there is a delay in securing a deal with the IMF or in case the deal doesn’t even go through, which is a possibility, do we have a plan B? I am saying this because the IMF in itself will help, but I don’t think it is sufficient.”
According to him, Egypt got the support of over five billion dollars to shore up its foreign exchange transactions.
“So I think apart from the deal with the IMF the government should be making plans for other options to increase our foreign exchange reserve. Especially in the short term,” the associate professor advised.
The dancehall artiste, who is still struggling to grasp the sad news, said he couldn’t sleep all night.
“I couldn’t sleep the whole night. Why? How?” He wrote on Instagram.
The Activate hitmaker, however, seized the opportunity to pray for the couple in these turbulent times.
He pleaded with God to restore their happiness and also strengthen their bond.
“God comfort and strengthen their hearts. Let this heavily unbearable hit oh lord become the very contact point of eternal bond, joy and happiness and prosperity for the young couple and families blessed with many seeds when they look back at it.
“The Goliaths of David seams to cease not but so shall his victories never cease,” Stonebwoy wrote on his Instagram story.
Meanwhile, there have been massive reactions from scores of fans and sympathizers worldwide following reports of the death of Davido’s one-year-old son, Ifeanyi Adeleke.
Stonebwoy and Davido’s friendship
Stonebwoy and Davido have a beautiful bond, as evidenced by the numerous times he has hosted the 30BG boss in his home whenever he (Davido) visits Ghana.
Not forgetting that they both made a beautiful hit song, ‘Activate’ which took over social media during its release in 2020.
According to them, though they are willing to sell their products at a relatively cheap price, the high exchange rate has forced them to inflate prices of goods.
The traders were responding to a plea by President Akufo-Addo for them to avoid profiteering in the current economic turmoil.
The president who admitted that Ghana’s economy is in great difficulty urged all stakeholders to “keep an eye out for the greater good”, in the face of the cost of living crisis.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman for Traders Advocacy Group Ghana TAGG, Mr. Owusu Boakye Samuel in an interview with OTEC News Kwame on Monday, October 31, 2022, however, pledged to support the government in measures rolled out to get the economy back on track.
Mr. Boakye again called on traders across the country to cease the habit of slapping high margins on goods.
“We as leaders of the traders have already told our members to take part in the country’s move to restore the economy.”
“We have spoken to them extensively and so I believe our traders will be measured in their margins going forward.”
He expressed optimism in the leadership of President Akuffo Addo and said they as traders are very sure the NPP government can turn things around.
The 3-year-old died in the swimming pool in their Lagos Banana Island residence. The incident occurred a few days after Ifeanyi marked his third birthday.
2. Eucharia Anunobi
The actress-turned-evangelist lost her 15-year-old son to sickle cell anemia on August 22, 2017. The death followed a messy divorce from her husband. The son was the only child of Eucharia.
3. D Banj
Daniel Oyebanjo who is popularly known as D’Banj reportedly found his son in Nigeria.
4. Mr. Ibu
Emmanuel Mandela Okafor, the son of actor and comedian, Mr Ibu lost his son at two.
Emmanuel was reportedly sick and was admitted to LUTH. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.
5. Aisha Falode
Ace sports broadcaster and Head of the Media Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Aisha Falode lost her only son Oloruntoba in Dubai on February 15, 2014.
The 19-year-old was murdered according to reports carried out by Dubai police.
Takeoff, one-third of Migos, is dead after an early morning shooting in Houston … TMZ Hip Hop has confirmed.Law enforcement sources, and multiple witnesses, tell us the fatal incident went down shortly after 2:30 AM … that’s when cops got the call for a man shot at a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling Houston.
We’re told Takeoff and Quavo were there playing dice when an altercation broke out and that’s when someone opened fire, shooting Takeoff … either in the head or near his head.
TMZ Hip Hop has obtained footage from the scene, and you can see Quavo — in an orange shirt — and others gathered around Takeoff. At first they tried to move him, but then put him back down, and Quavo yelled for someone to get help.Police tell us 2 other people were shot and were taken to the hospital in private vehicles. It’s unclear what their conditions are. Quavo was not injured.
Just a couple of hours before the shooting, Takeoff posted a selfie from the bowling alley. Quavo had posted video earlier in the night, driving around Houston with Jas Prince, who was celebrating his birthday.Takeoff, who’s real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball, was the youngest member of Migos. Quavo was his uncle, and Offset his cousin.They came together as a group in 2008 in Georgia, and became multi-platinum hitmakers … dropping their first major hit, “Versace,” in 2013. They would hit number one on Billboard in 2016 with “Bad and Boujee.”Most recently, Quavo and Offset had released a project as the duo, “Unc & Phew.” They had just released their latest music video, “Messy,” on Monday.Takeoff was 28.RIPStory developing …Source:tmz.com
Ghanaian music industry player who doubles as a digital strategist and media marketer, Mr. Kelly Nii Lartey, has advised popular Ghanaian musicianMzbel on how he could make millions of money with her current trending song #Asibolanga.
Dr. Kelly, who took to his verified Facebook account to send this message, posted “Dear MzbeL,
To make a real music business, you have put up #Asibolanga LP/EP with renditions per the template by Epixode.
1. Jazz version
2. Dancehall version ft Epixodemusic
3. Hiplife/ Trap version ft MDK
4. Afrobeats version ft Mr. Drew
5. Highlife version ft Daddy Lumba produced by Appietus.”
6. Few instrumental.
You stand a better chance of reaching wider audiences, and your fans can enjoy rich collections of content via YouTube for videos of LP/EP! This will open up your talent to varied music lovers across the world, not only in Ghana.”
Kelly was one of the few industry players who fell in love with the teaser of #Asibonlanga before it was officially released.
Also, Mzbel has cleared up the air against rumours saying #Asibolanga was targeted at Ghanaian Actress Afia Schwarzenegger.
According to Mzbel, the term Asibolanga has nothing to do with the actress, so Ghanaians should stop creating enemies for her.
Speaking to GhanaWeb, the concerned traders denounced the way in which some dealers had inflated the pricing of commodities, making life for the general public intolerable.
They also criticized the government for failing to act appropriately and control market prices.
The cost of food has skyrocketed along with the costs of certain important commodities in the nation.
Though the traders have blamed it on hikes in international market prices on petroleum products and the level of the cedi depreciation to foreign currencies, some of them have admitted that the effects on prices of commodities have been exaggerated by some traders.
“You can’t just ask people to reduce prices without first putting measures to reduce the cost of production and importation. You have to also regulate traders after doing the needful”. They revealed.
Additionally, some consumers who expressed their views on the president’s current address to the nation over the economic hardship, expressed disappointment in the president’s speech, indicating that they expected the president to put measures that can help reduce the prices of commodities on the market.
They lamented that most of their expectations were turned down by the first gentleman of the land.
“We expected the president to put measures that could help reduce commodity prices. A common oil which cost 400 cedis has now jumped to 1200 cedis. What at all is happening? Couldn’t the president do anything about it? A young man quizzed.
“We don’t expect food to be expensive as we’re experiencing today. Why do we have to allow people to price their items anyhow without regulating them?” Another man who identified himself as Mr. Osei lamented.
“The president should have done something on the dollar and the cedi depreciation. We’re indeed suffering”.
Mrs. Comfort Afrifa, a trader who spoke to this reporter blamed most of the hikes on her colleague traders where she called for stringent measures to regulate prices.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0026 and a selling price of 13.0156. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 12.85 and sold at a rate of 13.55.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 14.9459 and a selling price of 14.9622 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 15.0583 and a selling price of 15.0747.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 14.20 and sold at a rate of 16.00.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 12.8545 and a selling price of 12.8674 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 12.9267 and a selling price of 12.9385.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 12.40 and sold at a rate of 13.50.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7075 and a selling price of 0.7081 compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 0.7159 and a selling price of 0.7166.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.9937 and a selling price of 34.0775 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 33.9522 and a selling price of 33.9783.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 16.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 20.00.
