Stephen A. Smith set the internet ablaze on Thursday with his response to a question on BS with Jake Paul.
When co-host Julia Rose asked Smith if he’s ever eaten ass at the 1:03:13 mark above, the ESPN personality paused for a second before responding with a frown, “No…I don’t have to. That is a god’s honest answer, never.”
Rose followed up by asking if he’s ever been on the receiving end of some analingus, to which Smith shot back, “That’s private.”
The hosts erupted into celebration, assuming it was a sly confirmation. “I have nothing else to say. No comment. … I did not say that,” Smith, 54, insisted with a grin, repeating himself several times for emphasis.
Smith typically avoids discussing his private life, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that he has not yet addressed the response to his possible confirmation. People on Twitter were more than willing to fill in the gaps as they try to come to terms with the reality that we’re living in a world where this aspect of his personal life has now been discussed for all to see.
I’ve learned things about Stephen A Smith today that I should have gone to my grave never knowing.
World President of the International Advertising Association (IAA), Joel Nettey, has advised brands to maintain a relatively significant presence, even in tough times.
He asserts that this is one of the surest ways to always keep brands in the minds of consumers.
“Traditionally, it’s been said that brands that are consistent in the market space even through the hard times are the brands that consumers remember when they come out of the hard times.
“It’s human nature- if you need something you go to the brands that you hear – so today you may not be able to afford but whenever your income allows you to afford, you are going to go to the brands that you remember so the advice to brands is that even though times are hard, maintain a reasonable presence because ultimately things are going to change. The hard times are not going to last forever and the consumer will always remember the brands that were present in their lives at the difficult times,” he maintained.
He made the remarks at the 5th International Advertising Association (IAA) Africa Rising Conference held in Accra.
The conference which took place on October 4 and 5 brought together great minds from diverse backgrounds who have excelled in their respective areas of specialisation (i.e advertising, marketing, communicatio, etc.) to share their experiences on how to build and maintain resilient brands.
Speakers included who all took Chief Brand Officer for Moderna, Kate Cronin, Global Creative Strategy Director, Islam Eldessoukay, the CEO of African Brand Warrior, Fatima Alimohamed, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Marketing – Ghana (CIMG), Kwabena Akuamoah Agyekum, and a host of other great speakers.
Mr Nettey further entreated the brands to prioritize social corporate responsibility and help societies, since they leave a lasting impression in the minds of their consumers.
“Also lend a supportive hand to the things that matter to people; whether it’s with supporting flood victims, supporting a course that is worthy and that way when the people have to make a decision, they choose the brand they remember did something for them,” he said.
About the International Advertising Association
The International Advertising Association is a global association that represents marketers, ad agencies, and mass media that carries advertisements. With headquarters in New York, United States, it has chapters in 77 countries, including Ghana.
It includes marketers that provide its members with the latest information on advertising trends, and marketing.
The Game is opening up about the fact that he’s never gotten a Dr. Dre beat.
Even though Dre is credited as an executive producer on Game’s debut studio album The Documentary, the rapper said on Uproxx’s Fresh Pair (at the 21:40 mark above) that the involvement of the Aftermath Entertainment founder was limited to oversight.
“He definitely oversaw the hell out of it, I was there,” Fresh Pair co-host Just Blaze interjected.
The Game responded, “You want Dre to oversee anything, because he’s a mastermind when it comes to that, but as far as like doing a beat for The Documentary, like…no. And I’ve never had a Dre beat in my career.”
Game said Dre would enlist producers within his own circle, such as Scott Storch and Timbaland, to work with him on Documentary. “I can’t give Dre credit for the Just Blaze, but it’s a Dr. Dre executive produced album,” he said. “People just don’t understand the underlinings and how the business works.”
The Game mentioned that Dr. Dre’s involvement, or lack thereof, on The Documentary is exactly why he previously said on Drink Champs that Kanye West did more for his career in a two-week span than Dre ever did.
Before getting into his situation with Dr. Dre, Game wanted to make it clear he’s only telling his side of the story, and not taking shots. “I’m never shooting shots at Dre, I’m only telling my story. And, my bad if you’re in it, but you’re in it,” he explained.
He continued, “Yeah, Dr. Dre signed me to Aftermath, but he wasn’t pressed to put my album out. That was 50 coming in, like, ‘Yeah, he dope as fuck, I want him in G-Unit,’ and Jimmy Iovine thought that was a good idea too. So, they put me in G-Unit, but I did not want to be in G-Unit. So that’s why I’m not on a G-Unit album, or you didn’t see me in my career with the group when you saw the group. I was just that kinda official, unofficial member.”
According to him, the young musician securing a nomination in the revered award show barely two years into the industry is a win on its own.
Speaking to AdomOnline’s Dennis Adu, Reggie Rockstonesaid that “he didn’t lose, definitely not it. He won. Just being mentioned. How long has a man been in here? It hasn’t been a long time since he started music, but then he got a nomination in no time. He has won.”
The ‘Makaa Maka’ hitmaker added that Black Sherif’s nomination and consistent growth are even more impressive when people notice he is being himself and staying away from copying trends or joining the new Afrobeats craze.
“This person doesn’t play Afrobeat or Hip Hop, and you get his whole vibe. He really defines what I always tell everyone. You don’t need to follow trends. Everyone is doing Afrobeats, and he went the other way.
“It’s very hard right now not to be influenced by what is going on around you. That is why it’s difficult to tell the difference between Ghanaian musicians and Nigerian artistes. He is just like Kwaw Kese, he never changes his style,” he noted.
Reggie Rockstone said he is glad to be alive to witness some of these growths in the music industry.
Black Sherif was the only Ghanaian that was nominated for the 2022 BET Hip Hop award. He was nominated in the coveted Best International Flow category with stiff competition from UK’s Knucks, South Africa’s Blxckie, France’s Benjamin Epps and five others.
France’s Benjamin Epps took home the award.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, rapper Black Sherif released his much-anticipated debut album ‘The Villain I Never Was’.
Purposefully biographic, ‘The Villain I Never Was’ is about Black Sherif’s trials and tribulations.
“It took me everything to give life to this body,” the 20-year-old artiste said. “The one thing in my life that I gave everything up for. There is life in this body, I hope it treats you good and speaks to you like I want it to,” he earlier wrote in a social media post.
Quavo and Takeoff have unleashed Only Built for Infinity Links, their first full-length record under the Unc & Phew moniker.
The ATL rappers/family members began working on the project about two years ago, as they prepared to deliver the Migos’ Culture III album. Quavo and Takeoff spoke about the effort in a new interview with Complex’s Jordan Rose, explaining their overall vision and hopes for the release.
“We just want [listeners] to know that we’re consistent individually, as a duo, and as a group,” Quavo said about OBFIL. “People always ask for the [Migos] altogether. A lot of people love that, but at the same time, even when we would go off and do our own features and other things, it’s always successful. We’re just learning from each of our lives. Like I said, it was always just about the three of us and living fast and going crazy, now it’s just about giving them the origins and legacy and what we have done.. People can get lost sometimes, so we have to let them know that we started this and [that] we’re still here.”
Quavo, 31, and Takeoff, 28, said they drew inspiration from some of hip-hop’s most iconic duos: the OBFIL album art was a nod to OutKast’s Stankonia cover, while the title was a reference to Ghostface Killah and Raekwon’s 1995 project Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.
“One night, we’re out at a little sports bar, and Raekwon walks straight in the building,” Quavo recalled. “So I went up and talked to him and just let him know that we appreciate what he’s done for the culture and what he did for us as a group, and that as we branch off as a duo, we’re still following in his footsteps. We asked for his blessing, and he was with it and said he loved what we did. It’s been genuine ever since.”
OBFIL spans 18 tracks, including the previously released “Hotel Lobby,” “Nothing Changed,” “Big Stunna” with Birdman, and the Gucci Mane-assisted “Us vs. Them.” It boasts additional guest appearances from Young Thug, Gunna, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Mustard, and Summer Walker.
Ghana’s local currency, the Cedi, has performed abysmally against major trading currencies in 2022 so far.
The October 2022 Monetary Policy Report by the Bank of Ghana has revealed that the Cedi in the first nine months of 2022, has depreciated by 37.5% against the United States Dollar. The local currency has depreciated by 24.1% against the British Pound, whereas 27.5% against Euro.
In January 2022, the Cedi was trading at GH6 against the Dollar. As of September, the local currency traded at GH10 against the aforementioned.
Bloomberg has painted a far more gloomy picture of the Cedi, which it ranks as the second worst- performing currency in the world.
According to Bloomberg, the cedi has lost 40.05% in value to the US Dollar in nine months of 2022.
Bank of Ghana’s report showed that depreciation of the cedi has worsened in comparison to the same period in 2021.
From January to September last year, the Ghana Cedi “fared better, depreciating by 1.8 percent and 0.5 percent against the US dollar and the pound, respectively, and appreciated by 4.0 percent against Euro,” the report said.
The deterioration in the value of the cedi has been attributed to the higher crude oil product import bill on the back of rising prices, non-roll over of maturing bonds by non-resident investors, and portfolio reversals.
Also, the sudden exit of non- resident investors in the bond market, as well as loss of market access to Eurobond resources, contributed to the Cedi’s depreciation.
“The effect of these factors has been exacerbated by the strength of the US dollar, resulting in depreciation of the local currency from the beginning of the year-to-date,” the report established.
Charles Nii Armah Mensah, popularly known as Shatta Wale, has fired heavy missiles at Deputy Tourism and Creative Arts Minister, Mark Okraku-Mantey, whiles raising several claims against him.
The self-acclaimed ‘Dancehall King’ among other allegations said the Deputy Minister had sidelined him from several business opportunities adding that he has the habit of painting him black to foreign investors.
A highly charged Shatta Wale who made an appearance on the October 6 edition of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme, said for years Mr. Okraku-Mantey together with the likes of Andy Dosty and others he labeled as ‘industry gatekeepers’ have managed to shut the door to some of his money-making avenues.
Emphasizing the extent to which he believes these people will go to see him fail, Shatta said if his project with Beyonce had gone through them, he would have missed out on such an opportunity.
“If he doesn’t stop this habit of sidelining me, things won’t work out well for him. For years industry gatekeepers including himself have been brushing me aside. I see Mark Okraku-Mantey stopping me from playing shows and I go mad. Those people decide what to do with us. For instance, if Beyoncé had made the mistake of going to Mark or even Andy Dosty, I wouldn’t have had that feature. They’ll tell her I’m an armed robber,” he fumed.
“They are not allowing us to work the way we want to and that is why people are not coming into the country to help,” The Shatta Movement boss added.
Touching on Okraku-Mantey’sclaims that his ministry did not have a say in the selection of artistes for the Global Citizens Concert and that they only worked on their terms, Shatta Wale said;
“A whole minister sits on TV and tell us that people flew into this country to decide for you? Are you serious? Mr. President if you don’t sack this man…”
Just a month after Realer 2, the Baton Rouge rapper returned with his new 13-track project 3800 Degrees. YoungBoy announced the release via YouTube on Thursday along with the message, “To whom stabbed me in my back laughing like me being counted out funny—it’s all good.” On Instagram he added, “I just need everyone to go against me, I need the energy.”
YoungBoy also revealed the cover art, an homage to the old Cash Money Records. The art shows the artist gripping iced-out chains with his arms stretched out while surrounded by flames and a hovering skull. It also includes several nods to YB’s hometown, including Chippewa and 38th Street signs.
Stream 3800 Degrees, laced with features from E-40, Shy Glizzy, and Mouse on tha Track, via Spotify below.
The project arrives about a week after YoungBoy welcomed his second child with fiancée Jazlyn Mychelle. The baby boy reportedly marked the rapper’s 10th child overall. YB documented his family life through a recent YouTube vlog, with the 22-year-old hanging out with Mychelle at their home and pointing out some damage done to his car. Comedian Druski saw the video and decided to take a shot at Mychelle’s physical appearance, writing, “Bitch look like me.”
Lead Officer for 1D1F, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr Kofi Addo, has explained that the companies captured were either in operations, under construction or in the pipeline, adding that the sector had many companies under its radar.
He revealed this during the inauguration of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly’s (TMA) District Implementation Support Team (DIST), which has membership from the Assembly, Ghana Standard Authority, Ghana Drug and Food Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana National Fire Service, Tema Regional Police Commander, and others.
He said of the number, 125 were in operations, 144 were under construction, and 27 were in the pipelines, noting that those in the pipelines had all their documentation ready to start the construction for the project.
Mr. Addo also revealed that out of the 261 districts in Ghana, the programme had so far covered 52 percent of them and was working to capture the remaining 48 percent.
He stated that the Greater Accra Region had 1D1F projects in 19 districts, of which the Tema Metropolis had two companies benefiting.
The 1D1F was one of ten items on the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s industrial promotion agenda, according to Mr. Addo. He also mentioned other items like the Industrial Revitalization Programme, Business Regulatory Reform, Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones, and Strategic Anchor Projects.
He mentioned that the key principles of the 1D1F include private sector drive, explaining that a district could have more than one factory under the programme, and support from the district implementation support team.
He added that an existing company could be captured under the 1D1F programme for expansion or creation of new subsidiaries, just like in the cases of Pharmanova, Everpure and Kasapreko who have expanded to other areas with the help of the initiative.
“When you have people saying we are just bringing old companies under the programme, it is not true, we capture expansions, building of new structures, and totally new companies,” he explained.
The 1D1F Lead Officer added that two districts could also come together to have one company under the programme when they realized that their raw materials and other resources could not support full independent projects.
He said among its objectives were value addition, support for import substitution, support for export, industry support, and opening the country up for economic activities through which jobs would be created.
He said some incentives 1D1F companies received were five years’ corporate tax-free, access to utilities, duty exemption (import duty, VAT, EXIM levy and NHIS levy) for all capital goods being imported for the project.
Mr. Addo also stated that an agreement had been signed with 15 commercial banks, which ensured the capping of interest rates on loans for such companies at 20 percent to ensure stable funding for the project, adding that the government also subsidized 10 percent of the interest rate for companies with majority Ghanaian owned shares.
Mr. Michael Okyere Baafi, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry (MOTI), on his part, urged Ghanaians to embrace the programme, as it had come to stay as an important way to industrialize the country.
Mr. Baafi said Ghana had got to a stage where it did not have a choice but to industrialize, stressing that industrialization must be a way of life for the people.
He added that “1D1F should be taken like Christianity, it must be a way of life for us, and just like social media it has come to stay.”
Mr. Yohane Amarh Ashitey, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive chairing the inauguration, said he believed in allowing the private sector to lead in industrialization therefore, his resolve to ensure that the 1D1F programme was utilize by many to get more industries in the metropolis in addition to existing ones.
The One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative is the vision of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to change the nature of Ghana’s economy from one that is dependent on import and export of raw materials to one which is focused on manufacturing, value addition, and export of processed goods. These raw materials are largely found in the districts, which would have otherwise gone to waste.
The initiative, as proposed by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is private sector led. Government creates the necessary conducive environment for the businesses to access funding from financial institutions and other support services from government agencies to establish factories. Ghanaian entrepreneurs will thus own the companies, operate them and bear all the risks and rewards of the projects.
On August 25, 2017,the President launched the 1D1F programme at Ekumfi in the Central Region. His Excellency, after the launching, cut sod for the commencement of the first factory, a pineapple/ fruit processing factory at Nanabeng in the Central Region of Ghana.
Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has urged the club to sign a backup for Thomas Partey in the upcoming winter transfer window.
Partey has already missed four games due to injury this season, including his side’s only defeat of the campaign so far at Old Trafford against Manchester United.
The Ghanaian midfielder scored his first goal of the season for Arsenal in their 3-1 win over Tottenham in north London derby at the Emirates stadium last Saturday.
“I’ve been very impressed by Grant [Xhaka] and Partey this season, they bossed the midfield against Spurs. But they can’t do it on their own,” Emmanuel Petit told Compare.bet.
“Especially if there are injuries. Arsenal need another holding midfielder. I’m not convinced by the other options, like Elneny. In the next transfer window, they should definitely be active in looking for another midfielder.”
Partey has made five appearances and scored one goal for Arsenal across all competitions this season.
The 26-year-old connects with Roddy Ricch on “B.R.O. (Better Ride Out),” the first single off his long-awaited fourth studio album. A Boogie confirmed the release via Instagram this week, when he shared a video clip of his studio session with the Live Life Fast artist.
“If I call you Bro you better riiide out,” he captioned the post. “New single dropping October 7th #BeforetheAlbum.”
This isn’t the first time A Boogie and Roddy have teamed up, collaborating on past tracks like 2019’s “Tip Toe,” as well as 2020’s “Numbers” and “Lost My Soul.” During a 2019 interview with Billboard, A Boogie spoke about his friendship with Ricch and how they share the “exact mindset.”
“You know how you are with your day-one friends? We could be like that, but at the same time, we understand each other enough to know, ‘Aight, I can be next door from him. He’s working on his project, I’m working on my project and we just sit in our own spaces and zone out,’” A Boogie explained.
“But then, he can pull up on me like when he pulled up to New York and I’m in Jue Lan club. Same thing when I go to L.A., I pop up on him and it’s the same love. So anytime somebody treats the relationship like that, you gotta keep it going and keep that genuation. I said genuation. That’s a good a—word.”
You can stream “B.R.O. (Better Ride Out)” now on all major platforms. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s Me vs Myself album is expected to arrive on Nov. 4.
It pays to have fun, especially if you’re Lil Yachty.
The melody in his new song “Poland” is bizarre, to say the least, which is exactly why it’s blowing up on TikTok, meme pages, and most other corners of the internet right now.
Over a synthy beat from F1lthy (Yeat, Playboi Carti), Yachty delivers a fairly simple hook (“I took the wock to Poland”) but it’s the way he says it that’s getting everyone’s attention. Adding an exaggerated warble to his voice, it almost sounds like he’s singing into a fan. Or maybe laying in a massage chair? Practicing for the opera?
However he did it, it’s oddly catchy and it doesn’t sound like anything else we’ve heard this year (or maybe ever).
Naturally, it’s already going viral. There are videos of people literally singing into fans and imagining the wild studio sessions that could have led to Yachty’s unusual vocals.
There’s even a Renaissance painting of Yachty taking giant bottles of lean to Poland (wock is short for Wockhardt, a pharmaceutical company that makes a popular codeine and promethazine cough syrup). If you do nothing else with your day, please listen to the bachata remix.
Ghana Football Association [GFA] President, Kurt Okraku says Kwesi Nyantakyi must be applauded for leading the country to three consecutive Fifa World Cups.
Mr. Nyantakyi led the country to secure its maiden Mundial appearance in 2006 in Germany.
Subsequently, Ghana played in the 2010 and 2014 global showpieces in South Africa and Brazil respectively all under the auspices of Kwesi Nyantakyi.
However, the team failed to qualify for the last edition hosted in Russia in 2018.
Speaking at the launch of a Talent Identification Programme, Kurt Okraku praised Nyantakyi’s successes with the Black Stars.
“Let me say ‘ayekoo’ to our former president, Nyantakyi who took Ghana to the world in 2006, 2010, and 2014,” he said.
“If we understand what it means to be at the Mundial, we will give Kwesi Nyantakyi a standing ovation”.
Ghana’s best run at the World Cup was a quarter-final finish in 2010. This comes after a Round of 16 debuts in 2006.
Unfortunately, the 2014 edition is one to forget as the Black Stars exited on the group stage.
However, the West African country has made a return to the Mundial scheduled to be hosted in Qatar from November 20 to December 18.
Ghana has been housed in Group H alongside Portugal, South Korea, and Uruguay.
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has begun addressing the issue of cocoa farmers providing their farmlands to illegal small scale miners whose activities are having adverse effects on the environment.
It recently emerged that illegal small-scale mining activities have been taking place on cocoa farms with the knowledge of farmers.
Some farmers are now encouraging illegal mining, also known as galamsey, due to the incredibly high profits they are making as compared to what they receive when they harvest their cocoa.
According to reports, others are selling their farms for between GH¢10,000 and GH¢25,000 due to external forces.
Speaking to the media, Director of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, Fiifi Boafo, said a sensitization programme is ongoing to encourage farmers to reach out to COCOBOD for legal representation when their lands are being sought after.
“There are some traditional authorities who are actually aiding this because they tell farmers they are owners of the land, so it should be given back to them because they [chiefs] are being enticed by illegal miners. So they want to get the money quickly and eject these people from the land.
The farmers do not want to give out these farms but with their level of exposure to go to court and resources not available to them, they are handicapped. That is why they give in. Our sensitization is ongoing, and I think that it has helped with that realization that this is not the way to go. We are also giving the farmers legal representation when they fall on us for support,” he revealed.
There have been reports that the price of cocoa is discouraging farmers from engaging in agriculture production, thereby wanting to engage in illegal mining.
In response, Fiifi Boafo says such challenges are not extreme enough to push farmers into leasing their farmlands.
He explained that “I do not believe in the idea that based on economies of scale, that is why the farmers are giving out their farms. Sometimes it is out of ignorance and the wish to get things immediately without thinking about the effects of it”,
Mr Boafo, however, admitted that the remuneration for cocoa farmers can be improved.
Government recently increased the producer price for cocoa beans by 21% to GH¢800 for the 2022/2023 cocoa crop season.
The new pricing regime will take effect from Friday, October 7, 2022.
Until the announcement, a bag of cocoa was selling for GH¢660 in Ghana.
While revealing the new price, Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, said the cedi depreciation against the dollar prevented the government from increasing the figure beyond 21%.
Meanwhile, to ensure farmers do not give out their farmlands to illegal small-scale miners, COCOBOD is sponsoring a law to take into consideration what actually goes into the farm and the true value of the portion of land.
Government has pledged to continue implementing initiatives to build a robust, resilient, and sustainable cocoa industry where cocoa farmers and their communities will thrive.
Artiste manager, Lawerence Asiamah Hanson, popularly known as Bullgodsays Sarkodie and Shatta Wale’s upcoming albums cannot compete with Black Sherif’s debut dubbed the ‘The Villain I Never Was’.
Speaking to Doreen Avio on Daybreak Hitz, Bullgod mentioned that Sarkodie and Shatta Wale are handicapped when it comes to reaching a wider audience, unlike Black Sherif because they are not signed on to distribution companies like EMPIRE.
According to him, Black Sherif’s involvement with companies like EMPIRE puts him miles ahead of other Ghanaian musicians.
“I woke up this morning and I realized that this month is serious because we have three of our artistes releasing albums.
“On top of my mind, I said Black Sherif will do better than all of them. Black Sherif has a label and they don’t.
“Shatta and Sarkodie are all about to compete with EMPIRE. They don’t have the strength to do that.”
Bullgod added that it will only take a miracle for them to reach a wider audience.
“Empire is a very big company and in terms of reach, Sarkodie and Shatta do not have what it takes. It will only take a miracle.”
Bullgod took the opportunity to throw some light on the importance of being signed to major record labels to widen the reach of musicians.
According to him, Ghanaian musicians need to understand that musicians cannot be in the music business and expect to do everything alone.
“Music has changed. It’s been like this for a very long time, but we did not understand the system at the time. You can’t do this alone. Bullhaus entertainment cannot do this.
“You can’t compare KiDi to Vanilla; you will miss the point,” he said on Hitz FM.
Black Sherif on Thursday released his 14-track debut album titled ‘The Villain I Never Was’ via RBA / EMPIRE.
On the other hand, Sarkodie and Shatta Wale are set to release their albums later this year.
The versatile defender who joined the East African side from Liberty Professional lasted full throttle of the game as his side won the game by 1-0.
Frimpong scored in added time as the game was heading to a goalless draw.
Saint George currently occupy the top spot in the league with six points after two games. Saint George will take on Sidama Bunna in their next game away.
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has condemned the brutal assault of a toddler in a video gone viral on social media.
A statement issued by the Public Affairs Unit of the Gender Ministry in Accra, said the one minute, nineteen seconds video portrayed a man severely molesting and beating a toddler under a tree.
It said: “The Ministry on behalf of Government strongly condemns this cruel, inhumane and barbaric act meted out to the child.”
The statement said the act, portrayed in the video was against the Children’s Act 1998 as well as the Criminal code of Ghana, which explicitly states that, “A person shall not subject a child to torture or any other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment including a cultural practice which dehumanizes or is injurious to the physical and mental well-being of a child.”
It stated that the act was a clear violation of the law which was punishable.
“We commend the Ghana Police Service and Child Rights International (CR) for launching a manhunt for the suspect in the matter and also staking a reward claim to any individual who will be able to provide information that leads to the arrest of the individual and rescue the child,” the statement said.
The Ministry therefore appealed to the public to support the Police with any information relevant to the matter and the arrest of the man.
“We finally urge citizens to be vigilant and continue to report individuals who engage in this unlawful act,” it said.
The statement advised parents and guardians to correct their children with love and care when they made mistakes but not in a violent manner.
“The General Public can reach the Ministry’s Helpline of Hope Call Centre on its toll -free number on 0800-800-800 or O800-900-900 for complaints and enquiries. Also, issues of sexual and gender-based violence can be reported to the Domestic Violence Call Centre Via toll free number 0800-111-222,” it said.
The rapper, who has once again found himself at the centre of yet another controversy this week, revealed he wants Jamie Foxx to play him should a film based on his life ever be made.
Without a movie deal in the works, Kanye West has already cast a lead role.
One of the “Jesus Walks” hitmaker’s many Instagram posts this week included one where he asked his 17.9 million followers who should play him in a “Ye Movie.”
The pair collaborated several times throughout their respective glittering careers, with their first link-up being in 2003 for Foxx and Twista’s “Slow Jamz” and for the 2005 track “Gold Digger.”
Also in 2005, West was guest featured on Foxx’s track “Extravaganza.”
West praised Foxx as “one of the greatest geniuses” in the entertainment industry. Foxx won an Oscar and a Golden Globe honour in the Best Actor category for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the drama “Ray.”
It comes as West this week cruelly mocked Gabriella Karefa-Johnson’s style choices for not approving of his widely condemned merchandise, which featured “White Lives Matter” T-shirts.
Front-row guest Jaden Smith left the show immediately when he saw the designs. West was subsequently criticized by a phalanx of journalists, activists and public figures.
Supermodel Gigi Hadid is among his most notable detractors. She blasted West while defending Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson in a heated Instagram comment.
The pair have collaborated on a series of songs throughout their respective glittering careers. WireImageWest called Foxx “one of the greatest geniuses.” Kevin Winter
“You wish u had a percentage of her intellect. You have no idea haha…If there’s actually a point to any of your s–t she might be the only person that could save u,” Hadid, 27, wrote under a post West shared.
Vogue ultimately shared a statement in support of their employee.
“Vogue stands with Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, our global fashion editor at large and longtime contributor. She was personally targeted and bullied. It is unacceptable,” the magazine wrote.
“Now more than ever, voices like hers are needed and in a private meeting with Ye today she once again spoke her truth in a way she felt best, on her terms.”
The next NDC administration will look into and prosecute Bernard Antwi Bosiako, a.k.a. Chairman Wontumi, Ekow Awusi, Charles Bissue, and all other significant members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), according to the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) communications director, Sammy Gyamfi.
According to him, there is sufficient proof to bring these people to justice and send them to prison for destroying farms, water bodies, and forest reserves illegally.
Sammy Gyamfi stated to the media in Accra on Thursday, October 6, 2022, that if the NDC is in power and does not bring charges against chairman Wontumi and others to deter others, it will be the saddest day of his life.
“The saddest day in my life will be the day NDC fails to prosecute Chairman Wontumi, Ekow Awusi, and Charles Bissue for engaging in mining without a permit.
“We have enough visual evidence to prosecute these people and all the key members of the NPP who are actively engaged in the illegal menace,” he reiterated.
Sammy Gyamfi also described President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s renewed commitment to fight galamsey as a mirage, a scam, and a lost battle.
He underscored that the government’s score on the fight against illegal mining is an unmitigated disaster.
He explained that NDC is not against mining in the country, but it is against mining in water bodies and anticipates the government to drastically deal with the people involved in such illegal activities.
According to the central financial institution, the increment for the fourth time is anticipated to reduce inflation, which has been on the rise recently as a result of the depreciation of the cedi and the increases in tariffs.
“Inflation remains elevated and the balance of risk remains on the upside. Although the forecasts are for monthly inflation to continue to slow down, the risks are on the upside, emanating largely from the pass-through effects from the cedi depreciation, upward adjustment in utility tariffs, and rising inflation expectations.”
“The Committee remains committed to re-anchoring inflation expectations and returning to a disinflation path. Under the circumstances, the MPC decided to increase the policy rate by 250 basis points to 24.5 percent,” Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, explained.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, October 6, 2022, Dr Addisonstated that the MPC recognizes the fact that the current condition is optimal and will be interim until agreements are reached on an IMF-supported programme.
“The Committee assesses that the engagement with the IMF has been positive and early conclusion of programmes discussions will help re-anchor stability,” he added.
As of January, the policy rate stood at 14.5 percent. In March, the rate was increased to 17 per cent.
In May, Ghana’s policy rate was elevated to 19%. The rate was maintained from then until August, when the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana increased the rate to 22 per cent.
Data shows that whenever the policy rate was revised, inflation soared.
In January, Ghana’s inflation stood at 13.9%. The year-on-year inflation rate rose to 19.4% in March. An inflation rate of 27.6% was recorded in May by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The country’s inflation rate kept rising in subsequent months; June (29.8%), July (31.7%), and August (33.9%).
To stabilize the Ghana Cedi, one of the factors leading to a hike in inflation, government has secured and received a $750 million loan facility from Afreximbank
Dr Addison also noted that the arrangement with gold and oil companies to buy repatriated foreign exchange gains, estimated at US$83.9 million so far, will assist in stabilizing the exchange rate, as will the signature of the $1.13 billion COCOBOD syndicated loan.
The recent revision in policy rates is expected to make loans received from financial institutions more expensive.
Should that be the case, individuals interested in setting up a business or expanding their businesses, which requires large amounts of capital, will be discouraged from doing so.
Nigerian musicianTeni has surprised her former senior high school Mathematics Teacher with a brand new Lexus.
The musician made the gesture as her way of appreciating her teacher on World Teachers Day celebrated every October 5.
Sharing photos and videos of the occasion on social media, one teacher wrote “Mr Ofudje taught Teni, he was her best teacher back then and she came back to appreciate him. We celebrate you, sir. Congratulations Mr. Ofudje, well deserved.”
Teni, prior to givingher teacher the car said, “I just wanted to appreciate your diligence, integrity and how hard you work so I decided to buy you a car.”
Teni surprised her Secondary school Teacher with a Car
🥺❤️
If you can read this,Thank a Teacher.
Happy Teacher’s Day 💫 pic.twitter.com/FXkjEzX6bs
The musician made the gesture as her way of appreciating her teacher on World Teachers Day celebrated every October 5.
Sharing photos and videos of the occasion on social media, one teacher wrote “Mr Ofudje taught Teni, he was her best teacher back then and she came back to appreciate him. We celebrate you, sir. Congratulations Mr. Ofudje, well deserved.”
Teni, prior to giving her teacher the car said, “I just wanted to appreciate your diligence, integrity and how hard you work so I decided to buy you a car.”
Teni surprised her Secondary school Teacher with a Car
If you can read this,Thank a Teacher.
Happy Teacher’s Day pic.twitter.com/FXkjEzX6bs
— Ella Of Lagos (@EllaOfLagos01) October 5, 2022
The teachers and students in the school were seen jumping with joy and rushing in to hug a shocked Mr. Ofudje.
Teni led him outside the hall where the white car was parked just by the entrance and handed him the key.
His reaction is everything pic.twitter.com/88gBvSsSkn
— Ella Of Lagos (@EllaOfLagos01) October 5, 2022
Mr. Ofudje who was seemingly grateful to Teni for her benevolence, hugged her as his colleagues stepped out to check out the car.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has increased the monetary policy rate by 250 basis points from 22 per cent to 24.5 per cent.
The Committee cited heightened economic and policy uncertainties, inflationary pressures, and weakening of the Cedi against the US Dollar as among the reasons for the increment.
“Inflation remains elevated, and the balance of risks is on the upside. Although the forecasts are for monthly inflation to continue to slow down, the risks are on the upside, emanating largely from pass-through effects of the currency depreciation, the recent upward adjustment in utility tariffs, and rising inflation expectations,” the BoG said in a statement.
The BoG said the current condition is “sub-optimal” and will be interim until agreements were reached on an IMF-supported programme.
“The Committee assesses that the engagement with IMF has been positive and early conclusion of the programme discussions will help re-anchor stability,” it said.
On the fiscal situation, the BoG said while expenditures had been broadly on target, revenue performance had been below expectations, complicating fiscal policy implementation.
It said financing of the budget so far had predominantly been from the banking sector with the central bank absorbing a larger share.
BOG noted that outlook for the Ghana Cedi had improved following the recent disbursement of the loan from Afreximbank of US$750 million, the signing of the syndicated Cocoa Loan of US$1.13 billion, and the agreement with gold and oil companies to purchase the repatriated foreign exchange earnings of about US$83.9 million.
“The Committee remains committed to re-anchoring inflation expectations and returning to a disinflation path,” the statement read.
Reacting to the announcement, Mr Courage Boti, Lead Economist at GCB Bank Capital said the decision was a bit of a surprise especially when the Month-on-month inflation margin had reduced, suggesting an ease on the slope of inflation curve.
He added that “Petroleum price, has been stable for a while even though exchange rate keeps driving the ex-pump prices in Ghana higher.”
He indicated that the main motivation for the increase could be the BOG’s own action of alluding to monetising deficit as government had lost access to the capital market both domestically and externally.
“The recent talk about debt restructuring means that the local market has not come around for a while. There were Bond maturity with uncovered auctions which the Bank must cover and of course over the years they have done that to help government. That is inflationary, and they admit it is sub optimal.
“They would have to keep mopping up the liquidity to balance the situation and curtail inflation,” he said.
The English-born defender, who completed his Ghana switch in June 2022, earned his first call-up in the two international friendly games against Brazil and Nicaragua in September.
Speaking about how he adapted to his new life as a Black Stars player when he visited the team’s camp for the first time, it was a welcoming atmosphere and he got along well with his teammates.
He also opened up on his initiation process, where he was made to dance like the other newcomers in the team.
“The dancing was a nice bit of fun. It just gives the boys something to be happy about and laugh about. It was just the tradition we have to do and we took it in our stride. I’m glad we put a few smiles on people’s faces,” Lamptey added.
Tariq Lamptey made his debut as a second-half substitute in Ghana’s 3-0 defeat to Brazil in France.
The National Disaster Organization (NADMO) has revealed that it will soon embark on a demolishing exercise to pull down houses built on waterways in the Weija-Gbawe municipality.
Director-General of NADMO, Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh, made the revelation in the wake of the spillage of the Weija Dam, which flooded several communities within the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
The spillage, according to reports, was caused by torrential rains which contributed to the water level in the dam rising above its maximum level of 46 feet to 48 feet.
In the aftermath of the spillage, thousands of residents of Oblogo, Tetegu, Weija and Ashalaja have been displaced with several properties destroyed.
Mr Agyemang Prempeh, who visited the affected communities, noted that structures built along waterways contributed to the devastating floods after the spillage.
He explained that these aforementioned communities were submerged after the spillage due to the blockage of the free flow of the water by unauthorized buildings.
In order to avert a recurrence, the demolishing of these structures built on waterways will help maintain buffers of the Weija Dam to contain water whenever there was spillage.
Mr Prempeh further asserted that persons whose building will be affected during the demolishing exercise will not be compensated.
According to him, none of the residents on those sites had a permit to build there.
In the meantime, NADMO has provided some relief items to affected residents displaced by the floods.
Sissalla West District Chief Executive (DCE), Madam Ayisha Batong Hor, has encouraged beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme to take advantage of the remittances to be economically independent.
“The fringe benefits of the programme should help you venture into flourishing petty businesses to be economically independent”, She advised.
Madam Hor commended the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP) for its philanthropic gesture as it could contribute to alleviating poverty in the Sissala West District, particularly when extended to cover the entire district.
The DCE said this at a meeting organized by the regional officers of the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project held at Gwollu to provide various kinds of entrepreneurial support to selected LEAP beneficiaries.
Madam Hor said the GPSNP, under the production inclusion programme, provided a total of GH¢ 173,000.00 business startup capital to five selected communities of Kandia, Sorbelle, Kuochuri, Gbal and Zini to venture into soap-making, shea butter production, and groundnut paste production, among others.
In addition to the startup capital, it also provided 4,200 poultry birds (Guinea fowl), and 51 piglets to some of the beneficiaries to engage in commercial rearing.
She said the beneficiaries would commit the resources to improve their livelihood and that of their dependents.
This, she said, would pave way for the expansion and extension of the project to other LEAP beneficiary communities in the district.
Over 200 players have scored a Prem hat-trick, but which African stars have done it on multiple occasions?
1. Yakubu Ayegbeni
The highest-scoring Nigerian player in Premier League history, Yakubu doesn’t get the credit he deserves for his near-century of top flight goals.
He scored hat-tricks on four occasions in the top tier, with the last coming on 3 December 2011, and the Yak is among five players who scored hat-tricks for three separate Prem clubs.
No African player has scored more, while Yakubu is one of only two players—the other being Robbie Fowler—to have scored multiple ‘perfect’ hat-tricks.
2. Mohamed Salah
The all-time top African scorer in English top flight history, it may come as little surprise that Salah is one of two African players—and 12 overall—who have scored four hat-tricks in the top tier.
His most recent came in October 2021, during that sensational run of form he enjoyed at the start of last season, and the Egypt superstar is in danger of passing a year without a triple in the top tier.
Only 14 players in Prem history have scored more hat-tricks than Salah.
3. Emmanuel Adebayor
Adebayor is tied with Drogba on three hat-tricks, but holds a special record of his own in the Premier League.
In 2007-08, the Togo frontman netted in both of Arsenal’s league games against Derby County, becoming the first player to score in both home and away fixtures against the same opponent in a single season.
His third hat-trick came in a 4-0 victory at Blackburn Rovers.
4. Didier Drogba
Drogba ended his time in England with three Premier League hat-tricks, but arguably as impressively, is that he’s one of only six players to have netted hat-tricks in consecutive league games.
Of course, Haaland has already joined this club during his brief time in the top flight, with Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright, Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane the other stars to have achieved this rare feat.
5. Tony Yeboah
Primarily known as a scorer of great goals in the English game, Anthony Yeboah certainly knew how to eviscerate a defence single-handedly.
He twice scored hat-tricks for Leeds United—both in 1995—with his first triple making him the third African player (after Efan Ekoku and Ndlovu) to hit a treble in the top tier.
6. Sadio Mane
Scorer of two Premier League hat-tricks, the former Golden Boot winner also holds the record for the quickest ever top flight triple.
Mane’s hat-trick for Southampton against Aston Villa—with all goals coming in two minutes and 56 seconds—set the forward a part as one of the league’s most dangerous talents, and further glories would ensure at Liverpool.
7. Riyad Mahrez
Not primarily known for his goalscoring, Mahrez is nonetheless capable of devastating an opponent when the mood takes him.
He scored his first hat-trick for Leicester City during their title-winning season, becoming the first Arabic player to score three goals in a single Prem game.
His latest treble came in November 2020, when he scored three of Manchester City’s goals in their 5-0 throttling of Burnley.
8. Benjani Mwaruwari
Following in Peter Ndlovu’s footsteps to become the second Zimbabwean player to score a Premier League hat-trick, Benjani actually went one better than his compatriot by hitting three goals on two occasions.
The first came in Portsmouth’s 7-4 rout of Reading in September 2007—the highest scoring game in Prem history—while he also repeated the trick against Derby County later that season.
9. Demba Ba
Both of Ba’s hat-tricks came during a golden few months for the striker early in the 2011-12 season.
Ba scored all of Newcastle United’s goals as they dispatched Blackburn Rovers 3-1 in September 2011, before also putting Stoke City to the sword a month later.
Former Black Stars captain, Asamoah Gyan has called on the head coach of the side, Otto Addo to find the right system and balance ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
The Black Stars’ quality ahead of the Mundial has been questioned after losing 3-0 to Brazil and struggling to record a 1-0 win over Nicaragua as part of the team’s preparations.
“Ghana needs to identify one strong system and master it,” Gyan said.
“We have good players but we need to find the right system and be very good at it.
“We can make tweaks when necessary but we need one system that one system that we are very good at,” he added.
Ghana have been housed in Group H alongside Portugal, South Korea, and Uruguay.
Before the kick off the global showpiece, Ghana will take on Switzerland in their final game as part of the preparation before flying to Qatar.
The Mundial has been scheduled to kick off from November 20 to December 18.
A seven-member delegation from the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) visited the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to discuss strategies to bolster revenue mobilization and reduce financial crime.
The EOCO group, led by Commissioner of Police, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, also featured the Deputy Executive Director Nana Antwi, the Director of Administration, Edward Cudjoe, the Head of Organized Crime Bashiru Dapilah, and the Head of Public Affairs Faustina Lartey visited the AMA office on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.
The Chief Executive Officer of AMA, Elizabeth Sackey, the presiding member, Alfred Adjei, and the head of the development planning division, Richard Oduro, were among those in attendance.
During discussions, COP Tiwaa Addo-Danquahinformed the Assembly about how EOCO could help carry out its duties to build the Greater Accra Region.
“There are a lot of things we bring to the table when it comes to the activities you do, there are a lot of fees and rates people don’t want to pay, and we are here as a state organization to help you collect them, also our presence here is to let you know what we bring to the table and how we can support you to achieve your mandate to develop the Accra we want,” she said.
Additionally, the COP said that the EOCOhas observed that numerous enterprises were operating in the capital city without a Business Operating Permit from the Assembly, adding that “these are things that we will work on together”
According to her, EOCO has been able to turn things around in the Upper East Region due to its collaboration with the region’s Assembly.
On her part, Elizabeth Sackey, who received the EOCO team, expressed concerns about the Assembly’s incapacity to generate enough funds due to leakages and added that, her outfit was in the process of digitizing its revenue collection system to reduce revenue leakages in order to boost its Internally Generated Funds (IGF).
She stated that the Assembly was prepared to cooperate with EOCO to address problems like the sale of counterfeit tickets and other financial frauds meant to promote revenue.
“We are ready to work together, we need your support in many areas, and we are happy to have you. Our revenue is not flowing the way it should,” she said.
On Tuesday, October 5, 2022, Kwadwo Asamoah, also known as Asokwa Maradona, announced the end of his professional football career in a social media post.
Following a discussion with his agent, Pastorello, and after deciding to retire, Kwadwo Asamoah posted on social media, “fantastic time
Federico Pastorello, working with you is always a pleasure.”
His former teammates, Thomas Partey, Stephen Appiah, and Ghana’s record goalscorer, Asamoah Gyan have all taken to social media to celebrate Kwadwo Asamoah while wishing him well in his future endeavors.
“Sharing the pitch with you was a joy; enjoy your retirement,” Stephen Appiah wrote on his Twitter page after Kwadwo Asamoah’s retirement announcement.
The Black Stars’ and Ghana Football Association’s official handle also reacted to Kwadwo’s retirement while thanking him for his service to the nation.
On Thursday, October 6, 2022, a news of a petition to the British government asking them to kick striker Erling Haaland out of the English Premier League thrilled online users.
The almost 1.8 million individuals who signed the petition to banish the Manchester City striker from the league “are a bunch of jokers,” according to the thousands of social media users who responded to the article, because the Norwegian hasn’t broken any laws by doing his job.
Many also accused Manchester United fans of spearheading the petition after the former Borussia Dortmund striker humiliated them in the Manchester derby by scoring a hattrick.
Erling Haaland has scored 14 goals in his opening 8 games of the Premier League season and has produced 5 goals after matchday 3 in the ongoing 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League.
He has now become the monster in the league and the rivals’ fans are not having it as they have petitioned the UK government to remove him from the league.
Check out some of the reactions in the post below:
Even players leaving on loan have been affected by the referee after Callum Hudson-Odoi’s first Bayer Leverkusen goal was chalked out by VAR.
The winger was playing his third Champions League match in a row, starting them all and playing until beyond 80 minutes in each as well, but wasn’t able to help his teammates to a second win in Group B, leaving it all to play for after three matches.
Hudson-Odoi, who has had a bright start to life in Germany, is playing consistent football at Leverkusen and is being given the chance to prove himself.
In seven matches in all competitions so far he has only notched up the one assist but he is looking much more confident than the player Chelsea saw for large periods last term.
Playing in a more central role, Hudson-Odoi is harnessing his dribbling skills and direct approach play to help his new teammates. Unfortunately that has been a struggle with just one win in eight league matches and Leverkusen sitting second bottom of Bundesliga. They have scored only nine goals.
It looked like the right decision after seeing replays and now Hudson-Odoi will have to wait to get his first goal. It came amid typical Taylor controversy after Leverkusen conceded but were then awarded a penalty at the other end instead, which was subsequently missed in dramatic fashion. They would the concede two second half goals and fall to a 2-0 away defeat.
As for Taylor, he was on the right side of the Hudson-Odoi decision this time but still isn’t a welcomed figure at Stamford Bridge after a string of high-profile decisions Chelsea fans hold against him, most recently the decision to not punish Cristian Romero for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair in the fierce 2-2 draw with Tottenham when Thomas Tuchel was manager.
Tuchel’s criticism of Taylor got him into trouble following the match. And while Hudson-Odoi’s reaction wasn’t as strong, Chelsea fans will silently add this to their Taylor list.
After Sturm Graz-Lazio, the Biancocelesti coachMaurizio Sarrispoke in a press conference:
“European matches are always high intensity and very aggressive. We suffered both for their merits and for our demerits because at a technical level you can’t make so many mistakes. On a quality level we didn’t do well but I liked our defensive solidity because if you lose a lot of balls in your own half you can also risk danger. If we hadn’t been mentally strong, we would have risked it”.
These are the statements made by Coach Vincenzo Italiano after the 3-0 success against Hearts:
“We were looking for a night like this, we scored goals with the strikers and a midfielder, we needed points to speed up the round and we did it. The second goal puts you in the right direction and to close the first half at 2-0 was important. A victory away from Florence had been missing for a long time, well done to the boys, this victory will be useful for us”.
The World Bank has revealed in a recent report that the goal of eradicating extreme poverty in the world by the end of 2030 is not achievable.
The World Bank stated in its latest Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report that the COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted long-standing poverty-reduction policies.
According to the report, the pandemic’s harsh impact on livelihoods resulted in 71 million more people living on less than three dollars per day.
“The number of people living in extreme poverty likely rose by 11 percent in 2020, pushing poverty 1.2 percentage points higher than projections going into the year (extreme poverty had been expected to fall). Thus, 90 million more people were living in extreme poverty in 2020 than had been forecast. Since 2020, progress in reducing poverty has been slow and highly uneven,” parts of the report read.
The World Bank claims that the war between Russia and Ukraine, China’s ailing economy, inflation, and the rise in food and energy prices have all also served to exacerbate the already dire situation.
“Nowcasts reveal that poverty reduction resumed in 2021, but only at pre-pandemic rates and not fast enough to recover the ground lost in 2020. Projections in 2022 suggest the pace of poverty reduction will further stall as the global growth prospects dim because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a growth slowdown in China.”
The analysis of the report further projected that by 2030, nearly 600 million people, representing 7% of the world’s population, will still live in extreme poverty. They will be concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, in conflict-affected areas, and in rural areas.
The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has had an adverse effect on the global economy, with Ghana not being an exception.
Aseven-member delegation from the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) visited the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to discuss strategies to bolster revenue mobilization and reduce financial crime.
The EOCO group, led by Commissioner of Police, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, also featured the Deputy Executive Director Nana Antwi, the Director of Administration, Edward Cudjoe, the Head of Organized Crime Bashiru Dapilah, and the Head of Public Affairs Faustina Lartey visited the AMA office on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.
The Chief Executive Officer of AMA, Elizabeth Sackey, the presiding member, Alfred Adjei, and the head of the development planning division, Richard Oduro, were among those in attendance.
During discussions, COP Tiwaa
Ghanaian businesses took a huge hit as a lockdown was imposed during the first wave of the virus in the second quarter of 2020.
Many firms had to cut costs by reducing staff hours, cutting wages, and, in some cases, laying off workers.
As the country works to recover the economy in the post-COVID-19 era, the Russia-Ukraine war has yet again dwindled Ghana’s economy, an assertion that has been backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Fuel prices, transport fares, and basic commodities such as water have seen a dramatic hike in prices as a result of the ongoing geopolitical tension.
Amidst the economic difficulties, the government has taken to its heels to seek a financial bailout from the IMF, which has pledged to reach an agreement with Ghana by the close of the year.
Meanwhile, the President of the World Bank, David Malpass, commenting on the poverty assessment, called for growth- boosting policy reforms.
He mentioned that “adjustments of macroeconomic policies are needed to improve the allocation of global capital, foster currency stability, reduce inflation, and
restart growth in median income.
“The alternative is the status quo— slowing global growth, higher interest rates, greater risk aversion, and fragility in many developing countries,” he added.
He questioned why the government’s budget would still be funded by the central bank.
“Why should the central bank maintain its support of government spending? Doesn’t that just fuel the decline of the cedi and inflation?
Why doesn’t the central bank compel the government to negotiate a fair price and secure outside financing for the budget?
“So this is what we had to wait for IMF input for?” Dr Kwakye tweeted after the Governor Dr Ernest Addison said that financing of the government’s budget so far has predominantly been from the banking sector.
Dr Addison said these at the 108th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference in Accra on Thursday October 6.
Dr Addison told the press that on the fiscal situation, while expenditures have been broadly on target, revenue performance has been below expectations, complicating fiscal policy implementation.
“Financing of the budget so far has predominantly been from the banking sector with the central bank absorbing a larger share. Persistent uncovered auctions and portfolio reversals by non-resident investors continue to pose risks to financing of the budget, resulting in monetization of the budget deficit by the central bank.
“The Monetary Policy Committee recognizes the fact that the current condition is sub-optimal and will be interim until agreements are reached on an IMF-supported programme.
“The Committee assesses that the engagement with IMF has been positive and early
conclusion of the programme discussions will help re-anchor stability,” he said.
He stressed “The outlook for the Ghana Cedi has improved, aided by the recent disbursement of the loan from Afreximbank of US$750 million, the signing of the syndicated Cocoa Loan of US$1.13 billion, and the agreement with gold and oil companies to purchase the repatriated foreign exchange earnings of about US$83.9 million so far, will help stabilise the exchange rate.”
Inflation, he said, remains elevated and the balance of risks is on the upside. Although the forecasts are for monthly inflation to continue to slow down, the risks are on the upside, emanating largely from pass-through effects of the currency depreciation, the recent upward adjustment in utility tariffs, and rising inflation expectations. The Committee remains committed to re-anchoring inflation expectations and returning to
a disinflation path.
Ghana Premier League side, King Faisal have confirmed that Coach Jimmy Cobblah has been appointed as the new head coach of the club.
The Kumasi-based club has made the recruitment of the experienced gaffer after partying ways with its two coaches from Serbia earlier this week.
“We are delighted to announce the appointment of JIMMY JAMES CORBBLAH as our new Head Coach. Having managed Wa All Stars, Inter Allies, Maranatha (Togo) as well as the Black Satellites, Jimmy Corbblah is one of the experienced coaches on the local scene.
”We are confident that his rich experience will help take this club to greater heights,” an official club statement from King Faisal said on Thursday evening.
The new gaffer is to hit the ground running immediately to prepare the team to be ready for the resumption of the suspended Ghana Premier League.
King Faisal before the halting of the league sat bottom of the league table after losing all three matches at the start of the campaign.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS), in its first round of polio immunization exercises, has successfully exceeded its target of vaccinating children under five across the country.
The vaccination exercise that kicked off in September this year saw over six million children being inoculated against the deadly poliovirus disease.
Delivering a speech at a press conference in Accra, the Manager of Expanded Programme on Immunization at GHS, Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achian, disclosed that the service achieved complete coverage in 261 districts.
According to him, a total of 6,558,459 children under-five years old were vaccinated against the 6,298,330 targeted.
This, he said, represents a 104.1 per cent increment in polio vaccination.
Despite achieving more immunization, Dr Amponsah- Achiano revealed that the exercise was fraught with some challenges.
He said the lack of education on the exercise, the fading of finger markings and bad weather conditions hampered the smooth execution of the exercise.
Nonetheless, Dr Amponsah- Achiano stated that GHS will, from Thursday, October 6 to October 9, 2022, deploy volunteers to all 16 regions across the country to commence the second phase of the polio vaccination exercise.
The second phase, he said, will target approximately 6.9 million children for the polio vaccination exercise.
He added that, as part of efforts geared towards immunizing every child in Ghana, GHS has begun a sensitization program to help educates citizens on the need for the polio vaccination
Dr Amponsah-Aciano believes that vaccinating every child will help contain the spread of the poliovirus in Ghana.
What is Polio?
Polio is transmitted through contaminated water or food, or contact with an infected person.
Many people who are infected with the poliovirus don’t become sick and have no symptoms. However, those who do become ill develop paralysis, which can sometimes be fatal.
The virus affects both children and adults, but children under-five years of age are most at risk.
Polio Vaccines
Polio vaccines are vaccines used to prevent poliomyelitis. Two types are used: an inactivated poliovirus given by injection and a weakened poliovirus given by mouth. The World Health Organization recommends that all children be fully vaccinated against polio.
Outgoing (world) president of the International Advertising Association (IAA), Joel Nettey, has advised brands to maintain a relatively significant presence, even in tough times.
He asserts that this is one of the surest ways to always keep brands in the minds of consumers. “Traditionally, it’s been said that brands that are consistent in the market space even through the hard times are the brands that consumers remember when they come out of the hard times.
“It’s human nature- if you need something you go to the brands that you hear – so today you may not be able to afford but whenever your income allows you to afford, you are going to go to the brands that you remember so the advice to brands is that even though times are hard, maintain a reasonable presence because ultimately things are going to change. The hard times are not going to last forever and the consumer will always remember the brands that were present in their lives at the difficult times,” he maintained.
He made the remarks at the 5th International Advertising Association (IAA) Africa Rising Conference held in Accra. The conference which took place on October 4 and 5 brought together great minds from diverse backgrounds who have excelled in their respective areas of specialisation (i.e advertising, marketing, communications, etc.) to share their experiences on how to build and maintain resilient brands.
Speakers included Chief Brand Officer for Moderna, Kate Cronin, Global Creative Strategy Director, Islam Eldessoukay, the CEO of African Brand Warrior, Fatima Alimohamed, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Marketing – Ghana (CIMG), Kwabena Akuamoah Agyekum, and a host of other great speakers.
Mr Nettey further entreated the brands to prioritize social corporate responsibility and help societies, since they leave a lasting impression in the minds of their consumers.
“Also lend a supportive hand to the things that matter to people; whether it’s with supporting flood victims, supporting a course that is worthy and that way when the people have to make a decision, they choose the brand they remember did something for them,” he said.
About the International Advertising Association
The International Advertising Association is a global association that represents marketers, ad agencies, and mass media that carries advertisements. With headquarters in New York, United States, it has chapters in 77 countries, including Ghana.
IAA provides the right road map on thought leadership in the Marketing communication space and is the unique platform that creates the avenue to rub minds, with some of the best brains in marketing, communication, media, finance and education, who are aligned with the ethos and values of the IAA and its global conferences.
It includes marketers that provide its members with the latest information on advertising trends, and marketing.
Melcom Ghana Limited on Thursday, October 6, 2022 renewed their contract with the Ghana Football Association for another two-year term as an official retail partner.The ceremony took place at the Head office of Melcom at Industrial Area, Accra.
It will be recalled that the GFA in November 2020, announced a one-year renewable partnership deal with Melcom Group of companies as official Retail Partner.
In attendance was President of the GFA, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku. Others included Technical Director, Bernhard Lippert and Director of Marketing Jamil Maraby.
The National House of Chiefs is requesting payment of their outstanding economic, sitting, and travel allowances from the government, despite the nation’s current economic situation.
President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, reminded President Akufo- Addo of their unpaid allowances when he visited Manhyia in the Ashanti Region to discuss issues surrounding illegal mining and its effects on water bodies and forest reserves.
“We urgently appeal to your government to pay Nananom’s outstanding quarterly allowances,” he said while delivering an address on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at the Manhyia palace.
“We also demand economic, sitting and travelling allowances to reflect present-day economic conditions,” he added.
Several international reports have recently highlighted Ghana’s economic challenges.
Rating agencies such as Fitch, Moody’s Investors Service, and S&P have all downgraded the West African country’s credit worthiness due to its economic crisis.
Fitch has downgraded Ghana’s Long-Term Local- and Foreign- Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to ‘CC’, from ‘CCC’, whereas Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Ghana from Caa1 to Caa2.
Ghana risks losing foreign investors as a result.
The International Fund has blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia- Ukraine war for the country’s current state.
According to reports, most economies are bearing the brunt of the war as they are unable to obtain petroleum products at cheaper prices, as well as food supplies.
In view of this, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II has urged Russia, being led by President Vladimir Putin, to “cease fire” in the ongoing Ukraine invasion.
There is no end in sight when looking at reports on the war.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to formalize Russia’s seizure of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia.
He has also signed the final papers to annex four regions of Ukraine; Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, even as his military suffered further setbacks.
Ukraine has stated that it has been retaking more villages in Luhansk and Kherson.
In a competitive match yesterday at Accra’s National Theatre, the university, which was making its second consecutive appearance in the competition’s finals, easily defeated the University of Cape Coast (UCC), a two-time champion, and the University for Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), a first-time finalist.
Ably represented by Lord Kelvin Kofi Atisu, a Level 400 Banking and Finance student; Vivian Nsiaa Nyantah, a Level 400 Accounting student, and the substitute, Eric Ofosu, a Level 300 Accounting student, KNUST, which demonstrated its determination to annex the trophy right from the start of the competition, won with 53.2 points, while the UCC followed with 47.7 points, with the UPSA in third with 30.2 points.
Prizes
For its prize, the KNUST, the pride of the Ashanti Region, received GH¢10,000 cash, four laptops, GH¢30,000 insurance cover for each contestant, free subscription to the Graphic Business newspaper, certificates of participation, internship opportunities with institutions of the sponsors and souvenirs from sponsors.
The UCC received GH¢6,000 cash, four tablets, GH¢30,000 insurance cover for each contestant, free three months’ subscription to the Graphic Business, certificates of participation, internship opportunities with institutions of the sponsors and souvenirs from sponsors.
The UPSA also got GH¢4,000 as its cash prize, GH¢30,000 insurance cover for each contestant, four smartphones, certificates of participation, internship opportunities with institutions of the sponsors and souvenirs from sponsors.
Dramatic moments
As early as 9 a.m., supporters of the three participating schools had gathered at the National Theatre, singing and dancing to celebratory (‘jamma’) songs as they awaited the call of the master of ceremonies for them to be seated.
Numbering more than their opponents’ supporters, students of the UCC who were determined to retain their crown constantly waved their school flag and moved in circles as part of their strategy to intimidate their rivals.
They did the same when they were finally invited into the hall for the contest to begin.
However, in spite of their smaller numbers, the KNUST and the UPSA students stuck to their plan by cheering their contestants on with songs.
In the first round, the KNUST indicated its intention, answering almost all the questions asked and also picking more than 90 per cent of the bonus points from its opponents.
In that round, the KNUST amassed as many as 25 points. The UPSA, after answering only one out of eight major questions, earned three points, while the UCC had 12 points.
The second round, which centred on calculations, was a tough one, as all the three school, struggled in getting their answers right.
However, out of the seven major questions for each school, the UPSA led the round with seven points, the UCC earned six points and the KNUST five.
In the third round, which was for students to make business arguments out of a case study, the UCC scored 7.7 points, the KNUST had 6.2 points and the UPSA 6.2 points.
In Round Four, which was the Graphic Business segment, the UCC led again with 19 points, after answering all its major questions and some bonus questions, while the KNUST earned 10 points, with the UPSA garnering seven points.
In the fifth and final round, the KNUST earned four points, the UCC had no point and the UPSA had four points.
TBSC here to stay
In his remarks before the contest started, the acting Editor of the Graphic Business, Charles Benoni Okine, said the contest, which was meant to create a platform for students in tertiary business schools across the country to demonstrate their knowledge in their fields of study, had come to stay.
He urged the students to keep reading the Graphic Business every Tuesday to obtain more information which could help them not only in future contests but also enrich their knowledge for the future.
Mr Okine commended the sponsors of the competition: MTN Ghana, CompuGhana, Accra Brewery Limited, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), GOIL Ghana, McVities and GLICO Life.
He also praised companies that gave technical support, such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana, with media support from the Daily Graphic, GraphicOnline, TV3 and Connect FM.
Charles Nii Armah Mensah, popularly known as Shatta Wale, has fired heavy missiles at Deputy Tourism and Creative Arts Minister, Mark Okraku Mantey, whiles raising several claims against him.
The self-acclaimed dancehall king among other allegations said the Deputy Minister had sidelined him from several business opportunities adding that he has the habit of painting him black to foreign investors.
A highly charged Shatta Wale who made an appearance on the October 6 edition of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme, said for years Mr. Okraku Mantey together with the likes of Andy Dosty and others he labeled as ‘industry gatekeepers’ have managed to shut the door to some of his money-making avenues.
Emphasizing the extent to which he believes these people will go to see him fail, Shatta said if his project with Beyonce had gone through them, he would have missed out on such an opportunity.
“If he doesn’t stop this habit of sidelining me, things won’t work out well for him. For years industry gatekeepers including himself have been brushing me aside. I see Mark Okraku Mantey stopping me from playing shows and I go mad. Those people decide what to do with us. For instance, if Beyoncé had made the mistake of going to Mark or even Andy Dosty, I wouldn’t have had that feature. They’ll tell her I’m an armed robber,” he fumed.
“They are not allowing us to work the way we want to and that is why people are not coming into the country to help,” The Shatta Movement boss added.
Touching on Mark Okraku’s claims that his ministry did not have a say in the selection of artistes for the Global Citizens Concert and that they only worked on their terms, Shatta Wale said;
“A whole minister sits on TV and tell us that people flew into this country to decide for you? Are you serious? Mr. President if you don’t sack this man…”
As of July 2022, Ghana’s public debt totaled GH 402.4 billion, or 68% of the nation’s GDP.
From GH392.1 billion in March 2022 to GH388.1 billion in April 2022, GH389.2 billion in May 2022, and GH393.4 billion in June 2022, the debt stock only slightly increased.
The Bank of Ghana’s October 2022 Summary of Economic and Financial Data included this information.
The data showed that Ghana did not borrow fresh funds from the global market in recent times.
The external debt remained unchanged at $28 billion, equivalent to 35.8% of GDP.
However, the domestic debt increased from GH¢190.1 billion in June 2022 to GH¢190.3 billion in July 2022.
The domestic debt stood at GH¢181.9 billion in January 2022, went up to GH¢185.4 billion in February 2022, and GH¢190.1 billion in March 2022. It subsequently shot up to GH¢189.2 in April 2022 and GH¢188.5 billion in May 2022.
When singer Mzbel on Thursday announced that she was set to release a new tune titled “Asibolanga”, social media users declared that her song, which is a diss track to actress Afia Schwarzenegger, would resurrect fresh troubles.
Reacting to the concerns, the ’16 Years’ singer, in a follow-up post, has assured that she is prepared for any form of ‘violence’ from the toes she has stepped on.
Her followers, commenting on her post, wrote that the battle line has been drawn.
“My name is Vawulenciaga Ekua Universe! I greet u all. New Single #ASIBOLANGA Dropping soon,” read the caption of the video where Mzbel mentions that she doesn’t want peace in her life.
Meanwhile, Nana Tonardo, the man to whom Mzbel has dedicated her upcoming single to, has urged his fans to be on the lookout for the release date.
“Single #ASIBOLANGA Dropping next week… Dedicated to Odii Tonardo Fans. Tag a good graphic designer to design an art for me…@kingnanatonardo1,” Mzbel wrote in a Facebook post dated October 6.
Afia Schwar, who is at the center of controversy, is yet to react to the song, which has so far attracted mockery and bad comments directed at her.
Check out the posts and some reactions below:
I don’t want peace – Mzbel declares
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How Nana Acheampong’s Daughter Discovered Her Talent As A Singer
Martin Amidu, a former special prosecutor, claims that the government is planning to use the IMF as a smokescreen to impose an austerity budget on the people of Ghana.
Since the government is currently negotiating with the IMF, Mr. Amidu has called nationalists and crusading civil society organizations to insist on and demand openness and accountability from them.
“This year, the IMF will be used as a pretext to compel Ghanaians to make sacrifices while the ruling elite relaxes and gorges itself on our sweat.
We shouldn’t wait for those responsible for our economic woes to use the IMF as leverage to threaten the country and impose an austerity budget without seeking our input or getting our consent. Now is the time to demand accountability and openness.
We have the authority to do this and put Ghana first thanks to the 1992 Constitution,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Ofori-Atta has also disclosed that a team of government officials will from this weekend travel to Washington, DC in the USA for two weeks to continue negotiations with the Fund to fast-track the deal.
But the former Special Prosecutor argued the People are entitled to know the content of the dialogue with the Bretton Woods Institution billed to form part of the Minister for Finance’s 2023 Budget Statement to Parliament.
“In the November 2021 Budget for the year 2022, this government rammed down our throats the E-Levy that went to Parliament without any prior consultation with the generality of the people and stakeholders. It is an understatement to say that a majority of Ghanaians were against the E-Levy but with arrogance and impunity, the government corruptly bought its way with the political elite to approve and enact the E-Levy into law. The consequent reaction from Ghanaians is there for all to see how successful a reception that policy received and is receiving.” Martin Amidu added.
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