There are conflicting media reportage about the purported denying the arrest of a man who flogged a toddler in a widely circulated video.
Media reportage on Thursday afternoon stated that one Richard Kofi, who is believed to be the father in the viral video flogging the infant was arrested on Wednesday afternoon at Akaa Buem in Jasikan in the Oti region.
Another report added that the wife of the suspect was also picked up by the police.
But in a sharp U-turn, the Police dismissed these reports indicating that it is following a number of leads as part of the ongoing investigation to track down the individual involved.
“The Police are following a number of leads as part of the ongoing investigation to track down the individual involved in the child abuse video which has gone viral on social media. No confirmed arrest has yet been made in connection with the case. Our intelligence teams and experts from the Police Cyber Crime Unit are working around the clock to resolve the case,” Accra-based Citi FM quoted an anonymous Police statement to deny the arrest.
However, Ghana Police Service to ascertain the validity of both reportage have proven futile. In many cases of such denial or even confirmation, the Ghana Police Service is quick to issue a statement on their official social media pages to that effect.
On the official social media pages of the Police, it is their October 4, statement asking the public to help them rescue the child being abused is posted.
“The Police have sighted a horrifying video on social media in which a male adult is seen subjecting an infant to severe beating under a tree.
Efforts are underway to track down the individual involved, have him arrested and rescue the child.
“In view of the urgency associated with the matter, a reward of GH₵2,000.00 has been set aside for anyone who is able to provide credible information that could lead to the arrest of the individual and rescue of the child.
“Anyone with such information should contact the police on 0243809991,” the statement posted on October 4 concluded.
The Honorary Consul of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to Ghana, Mr. Hilton John Mitchell, advises company owners to have the bravery to hire human resources whose qualifications are higher than their own even as they look to hire workers who fit their requirements.
According to him, doing so enables a business owner to reach the necessary success.
In an exclusive interview with ATL FM NEWS, he emphasized that while companies should be free to hire those with more talents and expertise than they do, as long as they attempt to locate the proper, honest, as well as most reliable, and devoted human resource.
“This should apply to the owner of a corner shop all the way to the biggest production plant anywhere,” he emphasized.
Mr. Mitchell, who is also the Managing Director of Jonmoore International Limited, was speaking at the 2021 Dean’s Award of the University of Cape Coast School Of Business.
To him, the easy way of life of getting a job, buying a car, a house, and getting married within the shortest possible time will only lead them to destruction.
He said such a notion only leads people to trend on the wrong tangent in misappropriating organizational funds and feeding their selfish desires.
Some farmers have threatened to engage in this illegal act following the announcement of the producer price for the 2022/2023 crop season.
A bag of cocoa was previously selling for GH¢660 in Ghana until the government on announced an increment in the producer price by 21% to GH¢800 for the 2022/2023 cocoa crop season.
The new pricing regime is expected to take effect today, Friday, October 7, 2022.
But some farmers have been unhappy with the rate of increase.
Speaking to Citi News on this, the Public Affairs Manager at COCOBOD, Fiifi Boafo, called on security services stationed at the borders to arrest persons who engage in the act.
“If persons are engaged in illegality, our expectation is that the law will take its course,” he said.
Mr. Boafo also believes there are enough incentives in place for police to enforce the law.
“The understanding is that if you are transporting cocoa along our borders, there is a percentage that is paid to the policemen who will arrest you for this illegality, and I am sure that the policemen, when they meet you smuggling cocoa will obviously arrest you because there is something to enjoy from that.”
According to the Authority’s Board Chair, Dr. Anthony Oteng Gyasi, the Ghana Collection Authority (GRA) plans to increase its annual tax revenue targets in the future years to lower the tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of the nation.
While the GRA has reached its income projections over the previous few years, according to Dr. Gyasi, the Authority has one of the lowest tax to GDP ratios in the sub-region. He was speaking to the B&FT at the Accra launch of the GRA’s Service Charter.
“We are therefore looking at different types of target, which will involve raising how much we are collecting. This will not create a burden on taxpayers, as it will take the country to the level of peers in the sub-region,” he added.
This year, the Authority seeks to collect GH¢80.3billion in tax revenue from the GH¢57.32billion it realised in 2021. With its quest to set higher targets, the 2023 tax target is likely to increase astronomically.
Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio of less than 14 percent is significantly lower than the average for 30 African countries (which is 16.5 percent), and much lower than some comparable lower middle-income countries (according to the OECD, 2021).
Equally, the last World Bank Tax Gap Analysis Report indicated that the country’s tax gap is also worrying, as the total corporate tax gap is about 85.6 percent, import tax gap around 32.5 percent and the VAT compliance gap is pegged at 39.3 percent.
The finance ministry is therefore backing the GRA to, as a matter of urgency, put in place measures that increase revenue in order to better the country’s tax to GDP ratio.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said there is an instituted plan under the Public Financial Management Strategy (2022-2026) to increase the nation’s tax-to-GDP ratio to about 23 percent.
“This is the way to go if we are to reduce the current high debt burden and significantly improve service delivery for Ghanaians in general,” he said.
Mr. Ofori-Atta explained that a major source of revenue underperformance arises from low tax compliance in the country.
According to him, non-compliance and tax evasion are closely linked with perceptions of poor tax administration and a less than satisfactory customer experience.
“It is in this context that we are delighted with the emphasis GRA is placing on Customer Service, by celebrating the persons who provide service while appreciating the ones who receive it,” he added.
Commissioner General of the GRA, Dr. Ammishadai Owusu-Amoah, indicated that this year’s Customer Service Week – themed ‘Celebrate Service’ – is appropriate and will challenge the Authority to do more in the area of service to customers.
He said the electronic tax clearance certificate, electronic invoicing, and an upcoming electronic auction system are some of the recent initiatives being devised to boost tax revenue mobilisation to meet this year’s target.
The revised launch of the Authority’s customer service charter is expected to place the customer first, with a deepened understanding between the organisation and collaboration between the GRA and taxpayers.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a member of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, has reiterated his stands that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would be judged by posterity if he fails to win the fight against illegal small-scale mining, known popularly as galamsey.
Gabby was reminded of an earlier post he made in the early days of the war against galamsey on April 6, 2017.
In the said post, the founder of Danquah Institute, DI, wrote “Posterity shall not forgive Akufo-Addo and our generation if we don’t win the war against galamsey.”
In commenting on it, he indicated that, he still stands by those views because the import of the post in 2017 remains valid in 2022.
“I remember this tweet very well and the import of my post remains valid today as it was yesterday and for our President, our leaders and our society. Posterity will surely judge as [sic] meanly and legitimately so if we do not protect for future generations what was bequeathed to us,” Gabby tweeted on Thursday, October 6, 2022, with a screenshot of his 2017 tweet.
It appears that Ghana is losing the fight against galamsey with videos and pictures of water bodies in the country having been polluted with the colour of the water turning milky brown.
President Akufo-Addo at a meeting with chiefs in the Ashanti region on Wednesday, October 5, admitted that the fight against galamsey has not been an easy one and vowed to deal with persons within his government who may be found complicit in illegal mining activities.
The President said the government has for several years been struggling with the fight against ‘galamsey’, hence government officials cannot continue to compromise efforts against the menace.
“I am not here to threaten anybody, but I want you to know that this is a struggle that I take very seriously, and I will not be in a position to protect anybody against whose evidence is messed up about their complicity in this matter…I am a lawyer and I always deal with facts and when the facts are brought against you, you will be invited to comment on them.
“If the response is not satisfactory, you can guess to yourself what the consequences will be,” the President said.
He also admitted that Ghana’s fight against illegal mining has so far not been successful.
“Since I took office on 7th January 2017, nearly 6 years ago, I have made it the central feature of my presidency to lead in the efforts to rid our country of this menace which we all now call ‘galamsey’.
“Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address of that day. It has not been easy, it has not been popular, but we have not got the immediate result that I was looking for,” President Akufo-Addo said.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC)has cast doubts over President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s resolve to deal ruthlessly with government officials said to be engaging in illegal small-scale mining also known galamsey.
The NDC maintains government and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have not shown enough commitment in dealing with party bigwigs behind the illegality.
President Akufo-Addo while speaking to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Kumasi as part of a meeting to find a lasting solution to the galamesy menace, expressed readiness not to shield any government official found complicit in galamsey activities.
But the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi who addressed a press conference in Accra on Thursday, October 6, 2022, said the President is not backing his efforts with action.
“President Akufo-Addo’s comment on this matter shows clearly that he hasn’t repented from shielding his officials who are engaged in illegal mining and proves what a walking contradiction he is, as he continues to skirt around this very important issue”.
For Sammy Gyamfi, “the Ghanaian people are simply tired of the President’s cocktail of empty and useless rhetoric on this subject of galamsey. We are saying to him today, that it is either we begin to see action on his part or he should simply spare us his empty talk”, he stressed.
The NDC also believes the Akufo-Addo government has failed woefully in the galamsey fight.
The party describes the measures and strategies put in place by government to win the war against the illegality as a clear deception, alleging that some members of the NPP and government are behind galamsey in the country.
“The so-called fight against galamsey by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government is a scam and has been a lost battle from day one. This is because, there has never been any genuine commitment or political will on the part of the President to combat the menace.”
“President Akufo-Addo has proven to be a leader who has specialized in talk without backing same with deeds. Today, our beloved country stands at a cross-road of unprecedented economic mess and unprecedented environmental degradation under the watch of President Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Bawumia,” he said.
Sammy Gyamfi at the press conference further slammed the president and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resource, Samuel Abu Jinapor over the galamsey menace and accused them of “shifting the blame to the chieftaincy institution.”
Dr. Bawumia, in the opinion of Prof. Hanke, has been a “unmitigated disaster” in charge of Ghana’s economy.
The US-based economist expressed his complete agreement with the viewpoint in a tweet that made reference to a GhanaWeb article where Felix Kwakye Ofosu had made a like statement.
“Former Deputy Communications Minister Kwakye Ofosu calls #Ghana’s VP Bawumia an “unmitigated disaster.” I couldn’t agree more. Today, I measure Ghana’s inflation at a punishing 87%/yr. That’s more than 2.5 TIMES the official rate,” Prof Stave Hanke tweeted.
This is not the first time Professor Hanke has hit hard at Dr. Bawumia who doubles as the de facto head of the Economic Management Team (EMT).
In a September 20 tweet, the professor identified the Vice President as the cause of the country’s problems.
Professor Hanke was commenting on the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against major trading currencies, especially the US dollar.
“#Ghana’s VP Bawumia says he’s ‘into politics to help people solve problems.’ SPOILER ALERT: Bawumia is the one CREATING the problems. Today, I measure GHA’s inflation at a stunning 81%/yr, nearly 2.5 TIMES the official rate,” he tweeted.
This is the highest policy rate increase since 2017.
The rate hike means it will become more expensive to borrow from the banks, a situation that will push the cost of living and doing business in the country further up.
Addressing the media, the Governor of BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, explained that the committee reached the decision in order to check the rising rate of inflation as the country negotiates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic programme.
“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 Committee remains committed to re-anchoring inflation expectations and returning to a disinflation path,” Dr Addisonadded.
Interest rates surge
The Bank of Ghana also said short-term interest rates on the money market have reflected recent developments, while medium-term to long-term rates have remained relatively behind the yield curve.
For example, while the discount rate on the 91-day instrument has increased to 29.7% in September 2022 from 12.5% in September 2021, the coupon rates on the 7-year, 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year have remained unchanged at 18.1%, 19.8%, 20.0% and 20.2% respectively.
The interbank market weighted average rate has increased to 22.05% in September 2022 from 12.61% in September 2021, consistent with the rise in the policy rate.
Average lending rates of banks have also adjusted upwards to 29.81 per cent in September 2022 from 20.20 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Policy rate gone up by 9.5% since March 2022
Since the Bank of Ghana first increased the policy rate in March 2022, the interest policy rate has gone up by 9.5%.
The Central Bank increased the policy rate by 2.5% on March 25, 2022, to 17%, and subsequently increased it on May 23, 2022, to 19%.
It again adjusted it upwards by 300 basis points to 22% in August 2022.
This is thanks in large part to the arts, particularly music and movies, which allow people to share their cultures in the universal language of entertainment.
With the level of cultural integration today, Hollywood producers are no longer as skeptical to invest in movies that touch on themes and tropes outside of America, as they were a decade ago.
Following the production and or distribution of successful projects like Narcos, Squid Game, Parasite, and more, all of which are performed in their indigenous languages, it’s safe to say that Hollywood of late has no qualms with creating movies that stray far from its own conventions.
For Africa, Hollywood still remains skeptical, as the continent’s movie industry seems too young and inexperienced to handle big-budget movies that command funds of up to $100 million.
However, Africa is, in itself not too young to be emulated on the big screen. Hollywood has continuously borrowed from African cultures in both significant and subtle ways. The continent is rich in history and stories from here can compel any audience to be thoroughly engaged.
Despite this, Hollywood remains reluctant to shoot high-budget movies that are completely African, in their approach, production, and delivery.
Needless to say, there are some Hollywood blockbusters that were inspired by African culture and experience, and below are ten of the best, blueprints to what may evolve to Hollywood’s confidence in investing in big-budget African films.
This list was decided by cultural influence, cultural enlightenment, box office performance, engagement, and critical acclaim
Queen of Katwe
Queen of Katwe 2016 (10.4 million): A very beautiful tale about a Kenyan girl who escapes poverty with her talent for chess. This movie is a critical darling, with an IMDB score of 7.4/10 and a Rotten Tomatoes sum of 94%. In January of this year, it was reported that the real queen of Katwe, Phiona Mutesi, won a chess championship for her school in the the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championships
The Woman King
The Woman King 2022 ($50 million): A movie about the West African tribe of Dahomey, and the Agojie, warriors (an all female fighting unit), this film depicts the Agojie fighting for the freedom of its people, albeit the source material is a bit controversial.This movie is not only climbing up in its box office number, it is also a fairly high acclaimed movie with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%, and an IMDB rating of 6.3/10. The movie also did well to display the beauty of Africa’s tenacity, and is a favorite amongst fans.
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda 2004 ($33.9 million): An uncomfortable journey to spectate, Paul Rusesabagina is a hotel manager, who saves the lives of many helpless refugees trapped in a brutal civil war. This movie is obviously a critical masterpiece as Rotten Tomatoes has it at 91%, while IMDB has it at 81./10, the highest ratings on this list.
The Mummy
The Mummy 1999 ($409 million): Not particularly the most critically acclaimed movie, and its reference to African culture is questionable at best, regardless this film manages to enthrall its audience as demonstrated by its box office success, and it does borrow from the age-old myth of resurrecting mummies. Its IMDB rating is 7.1/10, while its Rotten Tomatoes score is 61%.
Black hawk down
Black Hawk Down 2001 ($173 million): Arguably the most intense film on the list, Black Hawk Down is a story about US army rangers of around 100 personnel led by Mike Steele, who are on a mission to assassinate the two lieutenants of a brutal Somalian warlord, in the capital city of Mogadishu. These soldiers are stuck in a terrain they are unfamiliar with and are met with heavy fire from every angle. This movie has a fair IMDB rating of 7.7/10 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 77%.
Blood Diamond
Blood Diamond 2006 ($171.7 million): A deep dive into the damage the quest for Africa’s wealth has brought about. This film is an uncomfortable journey into the experiences of helpless Africans who get caught in-between its region’s wealth and greedy corporations. Set in 1999 Sierra Leone, a man is yanked from his family and forced to work in a mine where he discovers a very precious diamond, this discovery turns his life upside down, as he soon realizes the lengths people are willing to go to get their hands on the diamond. It almost goes without saying that such a powerful story would end up being highly critically acclaimed, however, its Rotten Tomatoes score is merely 63%, but its IMDB rating is 8/10.
Coming to America
Coming to America 1988 ($288 million): Most likely responsible for the narrative that all African royalties speak in heavy local English accents, this comedy classic will forever remain in the heart of comedy lovers in the 90s. The film follows Prince Akeem, the heir of the fictional kingdom of Zamunda, as he searches for love in Queens, New York. Its IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes ratings are 7.1/10 and 73% respectively.
Captain Philips
Captain Philips 2013 ($220 million): A nail-biting motion picture, this film does a great job of heightening one’s claustrophobia. When a ship captained by Richard Philips, and headed to Kenya is held hostage by Somalian pirates, the captain finds himself playing mediator so as he attempts to talk the pirates out of murdering the entire crew. The IMDB rating of this film sits at 7.8/10, while its Rotten Tomatoes score is 93%, the highest on this list.
The Black Panther
Black Panther 2018 ($1.344 billion): Set in the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda, a country blessed with the earth’s only vibranium reserve, this film centers around a warrior prince, blessed with superpowers from the Egyptian Panther God Bast. It is not only one of the highest grossing movies of all time, but also a film who’s major selling point is the African themed cultures displayed in the movie. The movie set a huge trend after its opening and had little Caucasian children wishing they were African. Rotten Tomatoes has this movie at 96% and IMDB has it at 7.3/10.
The Lion King
The Lion King 1994 ($1 billion): Arguably the biggest movie to draw inspiration from Africa, this all-time classic follows the journey of Simba, a lion who is deceived into thinking he is responsible for his father’s death. This is another movie on this list with one of the most commanding box office performances ever, with its franchise earning around $3 billion in total. The 2019 remake grossed $1.66 billion alone. Rotten Tomatoes puts this movie at 93% and IMDB scores it 8.5/10. Also, there is great satisfaction in knowing that such a beautiful story is set in the Savanna plains of Africa.
A report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has evaluated innovation levels across 130 economies to determine the most innovative markets in the world in 2022.
The 2022 Global Innovation Index (GII) measured each economy’s innovative capacity and output by focusing on a long list of criteria such as human capital, institutions, technology and creative output, as well as market and business sophistication, among others. The GII ranking is based on performance across seven pillars:
Which are the most innovative economies in 2022?
Switzerland is the most innovative economy in the world in 2022 – for the 12th year in a row – followed by the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. China is nearing the top 10 while Türkiye and India enter the top 40 for the first time, according to the GII 2022.
Mauritius ranks first in Africa in Global Innovation Index 2022
Port Louis, Capital of Mauritius
According to the report, Mauritius emerged the most innovative African country, and climbing seven places to 45th on the Global Innovation Index (GII). Unlike most African countries, the report said Mauritius has a high human development score. Its economy has grown robustly in the last half a century, especially on financial services, tourism and information technology.
Top 10 innovation economies by region
This year, sixteen out of the 25 economies from Sub-Saharan Africa covered this year improved their ranking. Botswana took the biggest leap forward, reaching 86th position, and in so doing overtaking Kenya (88th) among the top 3 for the region. Other notable improvers within the region are Mauritius (45th), Ghana (95th), Namibia (96th) and Senegal (99th). South Africa remains unchanged in 61st place – and continuing to fail to improve consistently over time.
Here are the top 10 most-innovative countries in Africa, according to the 2022 Global Innovation Index
The colonial era in Africa for all its evil including the selling and buying of human beings is also marred by the theft that defined the era.
Not only did colonists rob Africans of its natural resources, it also robbed the continent of its identity, and heritage. During this period artifacts that held great significance to numerous indigenous tribes were stolen. Even smugglers managed to get their hands on African treasures.
For over a century this issue has been scarcely addressed. 95% of African artifacts are still housed in western museums and there remains a popular narrative amongst westerners that their museums are the right places to house these monuments based on security.
This bone of contention has been revisited countless times, and these numerous debates are yet to yield any consolidated response, let alone reparation.
Millions of African artifacts are currently scattered all across Europe and America. In France alone, there are over 300,000 looted treasures, one-third of which are from Africa.
French President, Emmanuel Macron, apologized and asked a law to be passed that all African artifacts in the country should be returned to its rightful place. This has been slow to take effect as tens of thousands of African art works are still held in France.
Regardless of the outrage and pressure from African activists, the French government has noted that it would dictate the pace at which the looted treasures would be returned.
Both England and America share France’s sentiments as they are lackluster in returning these stolen valuables.
The looting of African treasures does not just end with objects, it also goes as far as hoarding the remains of Africans.
In response to the pressure being heaped upon these western governments some artifacts have been returned, with promise that more will be returned. Below are seven of Africa’s belongings that have been brought back to the mother land.
Patrice Lumumba’s Teeth: PatriceLumumba is a figure who’s name will forever be etched in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s liberation. He was on the frontlines for the liberation of his people, but met a disastrous end for it. Following his death, his corpse was dissolved in acid, except for his gold tooth which was kept as a trophy by the Belgian policeman who oversaw the disposal. After 61 years, Belgian authorities finally returned the gold tooth to his children on June 22, 2022.
Sarah Baartman’s remains: Sarah Baartman was a South African woman who was stolen from her home and exhibited as a freak show in 19th-century Europe. She died in 1815, but she was still being exhibited. Her brain, skeleton and sexual organs remained on display in a Paris museum until 1974. It was only 200 years later that her body was returned. On March 6, 2002, her remains were returned and buried at Hankey in the Eastern Cape Province.
Dahomey throne: Formerly the Dahomey kingdom, the west African country of Benin saw the return of 26 of its artifacts, including the Dahomey throne that was looted in 1892, from the last king of the kingdom, King Guezo. The throne was returned on November 10 2021. Among the returned items were the thrones of former kings, four doors of the Royal Palace of Abomey, altars, royal scepters, statues representing former kings, a calabash, and army clothes from one of Benin’s famed female soldiers.
Sword of Omar Saidou Tall: The sword of West African leader, Omar Saidou Tall, who led an anti-colonial struggle against the French, was returned on November 17th 2019. Omar Saidou Tall was a political and religious leader who led his people in battle against the French in the 19th century. He fought French troops from 1857 to 1859 before signing a peace treaty with them in 1860. As the story goes, he mysteriously disappeared. The disappearance of his treasures were not so much a mystery.
Bronze Cockerel of the Benin Kingdom : After 124 years, Cambridge University handed over the bronze statue of a cockerel that once belonged to the powerful kingdom of Benin, back to its people. The statue was looted by British troops in 1897, and was finally returned on 27th of October 2021. The statue dates back to the 16th century and has immense religious and cultural significance to the people of Benin.
Head of Oba bronze statue of the Benin Kingdom: This statue alongside the Cockrel statue was also returned on the 27th of October 2021 to the same recipients. This statue, like the cockerel statue, holds great historic and spiritual significance to the proud Benin people. Both statues were handed over to the Nigerian High Commission, and the current Oba of Benin Oba Ewuare II.
Kakungu mask: The king of Congo, King Philippe, on his first visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo since assuming the throne in 2013, handed over the Kakungu mask, a large wooden mask, to the Congolese president, Felix Tshisekedi on June 8th 2022. The mask belonged to the Suku people who inhabited the southwest region of DRC today. The people used this mask during important ceremonies.
Another heartbreaking video of the toddler who was flogged in the viral video has surfaced.
Before this, a disturbing video surfaced on social media a few days ago. In the video, a yet-to-be-identified man raised the toddler and mercilessly whipped him over a reason not known.
The Ghana Police service has spotted the video and issued a statement to manhunt the man in the video.
Another video of the boy sadly sitting with tears running down from his eyes has surfaced on social media. In the video, the boy is wearing the same clothes and in the background, the person recording him was singing a Shatta Wale song.
The video below was shared by Ghanaian actor, Kobi Rana who is further charging the Ghana Police to take action. “Part 2. Smh @ghpoliceservice @mogcsp_ghana @nakufoaddo @sbawumia @rakufoaddo we are waiting on you. You have all it takes to find this town. We believe in you. #savethechild #childabuse,” he wrote.
According to The Fourth Estate , the suspect, Richard Kofi was picked up at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Akaa Buem in Jasikan in the Oti Region.
The report adds that The police also picked up the suspect’s wife who lives in a house separate from the husband. The child was also rescued from the house and placed in the care of the police.
The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has encouraged Women in Cross Border Trade who are yet to register with the Authority’s Regional Shipper Committees to do so.
The move is to enable the GSA to gather enough data on their operations and develop programs and policies to support their efforts geared towards socio-economic growth.
This follows several complaints by Women in Cross Border Trade in the past about challenges they face at the borders which include delays by border agencies in processing documents, challenges with the Letter of Commitment (LOC), multiple checkpoints and extortions, and armed robbery among others.
It is for this reason that the GSA collaborated with the GIZ-Trade Hub on 28th September 2022 to sensitize Women in Cross Border Trade in Accra on ways to avoid some of the recurrent challenges in their line of work.
A Senior Officer with the Shipper Services and Trade Facilitation Department of the GSA Mrs. Rhodalyn Djanitey used the occasion to educate the cross-border traders on the Authority’s Shipper Complaints and Support Units which have been set up at all the country’s entry points.
She assured the cross-border traders that the Shipper Complaints and Support Units are well equipped to handle any challenge and encouraged them to utilize their services.
The Head of the GIZ-Trade Hub Dr. Maren Breuer reiterated the crucial role played by Women in Cross Border Trade to Ghana’s economy, hence the decision to intensify efforts to assist them.
The Organizer for the Women’s Wing of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) Pearl Poku commended the GSA and the GIZ-Trade Hub for the initiative and called for regular collaborations to assist the operations of cross-border traders.
The People’s National convention (PNC) has described the 21% rise in the producer price of cocoa as an insulting and disrespectful gesture by the government.
A statement issued by the PNC’s National Youth Organizer, Mark Ewusi Arkoh said: “The difficulty in the economic system which is substantiated by the
high cost of products and the continuous increase in petroleum products should have compelled the cocoa board to increase the price of cocoa for the 2022/2023 cocoa season to at least 40%. This would have brought up cocoa prices to a minimum of GHS 925.00 instead of GHS 800.00.”
According to the PNC, the “increment is a pittance compared to the hard toil of the Ghanaian Cocoa Farmer this season” urging COCOBOD as a matter of urgency to review the price upward.
The statement said the country risks losing farms to galamsayers as some
farmers have already been reportedly selling off their farms to galamseyers.
“Farmers find it difficult to manage the proceeds from this price. If cocoa farmers are not happy, productivity in this sector is also negatively affected. Many farmers are getting disappointed by the day.
“That being said, the government should quickly come in to review this
price increment not only to save our third-best export commodity but
to save our water bodies.”
Background
The government has pegged the producer price for cocoa at GH¢800 per bag of 64kg.
The new price takes effect Friday, October 7, 2022, for the 2022-2023 crop season.
The upward adjustment shows a 21 percent increase from GH¢10,560 per tonne to GH¢12,800 per tonne.
Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto announced at a press briefing in Accra Wednesday, October 5, 2022.
Ghana recorded a trade surplus of US$1.7 billion in August 2022. This is an increase from the US$892.4 million recorded in August 2021.
This was revealed by the Bank of Ghana at a press briefing on October 6, 2022.
According to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, the increase was due to “higher receipts from gold, crude oil, and non-traditional exports, notwithstanding increased demand for oil and gas imports.”
He also noted that the country witnessed an increase in total exports to the tune of US$3.8 billion.
“Total exports went up by 19.5 percent year-on-year to US$11.8 billion. Crude oil exports totalled U$3.8 billion, 56.5 percent higher than observed in 2021, mainly due to price effects.
Gold export earnings also went up by 23.9 percent to US$4.2 billion, supported by increased production volumes triggered by the positive response from small-scale gold exporters to the downward revision of the withholding tax regime from 3 percent to 1.5 percent.
“However, on account of lower prices and low cocoa purchases, cocoa receipts declined by 22.8 percent to US$1.7 billion from US$2.1 billion.
Total merchandise imports grew by 12.9 percent on a year-on-year basis to US$10.2 billion, mainly driven by a higher oil and gas import bill of US$3.1 billion at the end-August 2022, relative to US$1.7 billion in the same period of 2021. Non-oil imports, however, dipped by 3.8 percent year-on-year to US$7.1 billion in the review period,” he added.
Lionel Messicould return to Barcelona, claims vice-president Eduard Romeu, stating the club knows “how to perform miracles” after they announced a profit.
The forward left last year when Barcelona were prevented from re-signing him after his contract expired because their financial struggles led to a massively reduced salary limit in LaLiga.
He then signed a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain, though the relatively short-term nature of that deal meant speculation has frequently linked the veteran Argentinian with a homecoming at Camp Nou.
Romeu suggested any decision to bring Messi back to the clubis a matter for the sporting side of Barcelona, but he hinted they could make any move work financially.
“He is an asset to the club and our doors are open,” he said. “We have shown that we know how to perform miracles.”
Barça back on the road to profits and looking to initiate a new virtuous circle
His comments came as Barca posted a €98million profit after tax for the 2021-22 financial year, following several seasons of serious economic woe.
President Joan Laporta’s activated what he called financial “levers” during the off-season to help ease their strife in the short-term. His measures included selling off 25 per cent of their LaLiga TV rights for the next 25 years.
While critics accused Laporta of mortgaging the club’s future, they were able to build a squad that is expected to be competing for the biggest prizes in football once again, with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha arriving at Camp Nou.
Laporta’s gamble is also reflected in the club’s latest statement of profit, though whether they have enough manoeuvrability to put together a package for Messi’s return remains theoretical.
Five years after losing his unforgettable love, Black Sherif pours out his heart in the emotional tune which highlights ‘sad Blacko’ telling a story of how his late girlfriend left without a goodbye.
He also detailed how her departure has since left him broken.
But in the quest to quench the curiosity of fans who have wondered who this particular lady was, pictures of the late Clementina Konadu, a former student of the Kumasi Academy Senior High School believed to be Black Sherif’s former girlfriend, have been splashed on the internet.
Obituary pictures of the lady-in-question, who was then a 17-year-old ‘school girl’ as well as some photos of her, captured in a uniform are making rounds on social media.
It can be recalled that sometime in 2017, it was reported that two first-year students of the Kumasi Academy SHS died following an outbreak of swine flu.
Clementina was part of the two students who ‘gave up the ghost’ at the KNUST hospital after the incident.
Merqury Republic, organizers of the annual Ghana DJ Awards, has announced that nominees for the 10th edition of the ceremony will be unveiled on Saturday, October 8, 2022.
According to organisers, they received 5,067 entries from the public this year.
The Ghana DJ Awards celebrates DJs and other music artistes who have distinguished themselves in the practice of their art. The theme for this year is ‘The Greatest’.
Regarded as Africa’s biggest DJ event, Ghana DJ Awards nominees will be declared across 27 categories, from DJ of the Year, Discovery of the Year, Highlife DJ of the Year and DJ & other artist collaboration of the year.
Last year’s event which was held at the Accra International Conference Centre, saw DJ Vyrusky win the ultimate DJ of the year award.
Voting for this year’s awards will commence on October 10.
Gospel Music in Ghana on the global map is moving at a faster pace due to the release of soul-inspiring songs.
Rising Ghanaian gospel musician, Emelia Baidoo is set to launch her 1st Studio album on October 16, 2022, at the Revival Baptist Church – Bogoso.
The album which is under the label of Emellie Production has six songs with ‘Onyame Nsa’ which literally means God’s hand, as the album title.
The six-track album, which comprises both worship and praises, will be the first album of the singer
Emelia Baidoo could be best defined as a young lady who is blessed with the potential of singing and truly believes in ministering of gospel songs to bring more people to God’s kingdom.
In an interview with Alltunezgh Emelia Baidoo revealed that the song eulogizes the good work of Almighty God in her life considering her background.
“If I look at the place we are coming from, we just have to praise his name for bringing us this far and ask for continued blessing from God.
“I anticipate that my upcoming album will help touch lives and draw people closer to their creator,” she said.
This album is in no two ways the best gift one can give himself.
Derrick Sarfo Kantanka, a celebrated rapper and performer from Ghana known professionally as Ameradohas announced October 25, 2022, as the day to release his first studio album.
Since breaking through to the music industry, the brilliant rapper and head of “Yeete Nsem” have been the center of attention, releasing back-to-back singles including “Abotr3” with Black Sherif, a 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards candidate, Back To Sender, Metua and Grace with Lasimd which happens to be on the album.
The multidimensional recording artist, songwriter, and performer announced the completion and release date of his debut studio album, titled “G.I.N.A,” on his official social media pages.
The abbreviation “G.I.N.A.” stands for “God Is Never Asleep.” According to information he provided on his verified social media pages, the album will start to be sold and streamed on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.
The management of the guest home is optimistic that the move will be worthwhile and profitable in the long run despite the significant upfront investment needed for the project.
The management added that the choice was a part of a larger initiative to have the facility heed requests for the usage of clean energy in order to protect the environment.
The Director of the facility, Dr Ebenezer Osei-Kofi, told the Graphic Business during the commissioning of the solar system that it was time the government supported the citizenry to opt for solar energy to reduce the pressure on the national grid and also the use of fossil fuel as an alternative source of energy.
He said even countries that did not have the sun throughout the year were making good use of the little they had and, thus, urged the government to support private sector businesses that were investing in solar energy by reducing the taxes on the equipment imported for installation.
Besides that, he said when more people resorted to solar energy, it would greatly reduce the country’s carbon footprints.
His solar system, he said, would be reducing close to 15,000 kg of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere every year.
In spite of the huge initial investment required for the project, the management of the guest house is hopeful that the move is worth it and will pay off over time.
The project was financed by Ewia Green Investment GmbH based in Germany that has been at the forefront of promoting clean energy in Africa.
The Chief Financial Officer of the company, Ralph Schneider, said per the agreement, Ewia Green Investment would operate and manage the solar system for a period of 10 years, after which the system would revert to Osko Lodge.
Although he admitted that the initial cost of investment was quite huge, he said the long-term benefits outweighed the initial cost.
For instance, he said unlike the national grid where there was a price review, the cost of solar energy was fixed and after 10 years, the individual would own it.
Expansion
The Sales Director of Ewia Green Investment, Nana Kwadwo Adu-Boateng, said many companies were now subscribing to solar energy as part of the measures to cut down on the cost of running their business as energy, particularly from the national grid, was becoming very expensive.
He said the company was expanding in the sub-region and was currently in Burkina Faso and would soon be in other parts of the sub-region.
The University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA), University of Cape Coast (UCC), and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology are the institutions competing to be named the finest business school in the nation (KNUST).
Sponsors
Accra Brewery Limited, MTN Ghana, CompuGhana, PwC, Goil Ghana, McVities, and Glico Life are among the sponsors of the TBSC Version 4.
Technical support for the competition is being provided by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, CIMA, with media support from the Daily Graphic, GraphicOnline, TV3 and Connect FM.
About TBSC
The TBSC is aimed at developing the minds of business students to be abreast of issues around business and the economy as a whole to help build successful business careers in the future.
The second edition saw the University for Development Studies (UDS) defeat the UCC in the final to win the contest.
Theme
The Version 4.0 of the TBSC is on the theme: “The Role of Business Students in Shaping National Economic Discourse”.
The event, which has grown to become one of the most sought-after competitions among tertiary business schools in the country, is meant to engender a healthy competition between the various tertiary business schools across the country.
It is also meant to enable students to keep abreast of the developments within the business industry and the economy as a whole, so they can make informed decisions in the near future.
The minister claimed in an interview with Kumasi-based Luv FM that galamsey might result in a ban on Ghana’s cocoa if ever levels of cyanide, mercury, and other toxins are found in the beans.
He acknowledges that the potential ban will have an impact on the economics of the nation because cocoa exports are a significant source of foreign cash.
“It is very important. It is the water pollution, cyanide and other chemicals, mercury that go into the food chain and ends up in our stomachs.
“To me, that is the most dangerous part, it is not the quantity but it is the negative environmental impact…If we send a consignment of cocoa to say Belgium and they tested and find any trace, they could ban our cocoa exports.
“So it is not so much the impact of the production as to endangering our international trade, and the only thing we have is cocoa.
“Immediately, the danger of these cyanide and these very dangerous chemicals going into our products, which we send abroad, will endanger our export earnings which for me is the biggest concern,” Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto stated.
The Agric Minister is not the only one to warn of the possible international ban on Ghana’s cocoa beans. Information Minister Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah in a post earlier this week, cautioned of a similar situation when he posted on Facebook that Ghana’s cocoa and coffee could be banned from the EU under new rules.
However, the European Union in Ghana has allayed fears of a ban adding that the new legislation is to be used as a check to improve the quality of cocoa beans from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire – the two world leaders in export of the product.
“There is no EU ban on Ghanaian cocoa. On the contrary, we want more. The EU regulation would be used as an opportunity to improve the quality of cocoa from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. And we are helping these two countries to meet sustainability expectations,” it tweeted on October 4.
Ghana has been waging war on the activities of illegal miners however it is widely believed that the fight has not yielded the desired results.
The discolored nature of water bodies as well as general environmental degradation has been used as a testament to the failed fight.
Officials from the Fund are now in Ghana for talks; they arrived in Accra on September 26 and are scheduled to depart on October 7 of that year.
Once an agreement is struck, the nation hopes to receive $3 billion from the Bretton Woods institution; the money is anticipated to be available in 2023.
As part of the negotiations, Ken Ofori-Atta said government officials will from this weekend continue engagements in Washington DC, United States with IMF officials.
Speaking with journalists during a working visit to Long Room’ at the Tema Port, Ken Ofori-Atta described initial engagements with IMF officials as fruitful and collaborative.
“We will go to Washington with them and continue for another two weeks of discussions. I think we are moving in the right direction. The Debt Sustainability Analysis still continues”, he disclosed.
“The Debt Sustainability Analysis is a critical component of the decision as to what to do such as structural reforms and debt operations, as well as the financing gap of the country,” he stressed.
Ken Ofori-Atta however applauded the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority for exceeding its target in September 2022.
“A huge part of the discussions also include revenue. This means that the work of customs is very important to the discussions. I looked at September figures and it looks like we exceeded the target. That’s very encouraging,” he said.
As part of the government’s 1-District-1-Factory plan, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo officially opened the GH6.2 million shoe manufacturing business Shoe Fabriek Ltd.
The project’s proponents said that by placing the factory in the Akuapem North District, it would give locals work and lessen the flow of people from rural to urban areas.
According to reports, Shoe Fabriek has given the neighborhood 144 new jobs as of the president’s commissioning of the factory.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, commissioned ‘Shoe Fabriek Ltd.’, the GH¢6.2 million shoe manufacturing company operating under Government’s 1-District-1-Factory initiative.
The state-of-the-art factory is fitted with the requisite infrastructure and equipment capable of producing 800 pairs of high-quality shoes, including security boots, school shoes, and casual shoes for men, women, and children, per day.
According to the promoters of the project, the siting of the factory in the Akuapem North District is going to create jobs for the residents, which will help reduce rural-urban migration.
Shoe Fabriek has, so far, created jobs for one hundred and forty-four (144) people in the district, and is a classic example of the import substitution programme being implemented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as part of the 1D1F Initiative.
President Akufo-Addo congratulated the promoters of the factory, Michael Asare Bediako, Opoku Benson, and Salomey Gyamfi, for supporting the industrial transformation agenda of his administration.
Whilst encouraging Ghanaians institutions, such as schools, to patronize made-in-Ghana shoes from this factory, the President expressed gratitude to the traditional authorities and the residents of the community for their unflinching support to the company and advised the workers to put in their best to ensure sustained growth of the company.
As of September 2021, 278 1D1F projects are at various stages of implementation under the 1D1F Initiative. Out of this number, 104 are currently in operation, 150 are under construction, and 24 are at the mobilization stage.
One hundred and sixty-five (165) out of the 278 are new projects representing 60% whilst 113 companies are existing projects being supported, representing 40%.
In promoting the 1D1F initiative, the Akufo-Addo Government is seeking to address the youth unemployment challenge, by attracting private sector investments into the development activities of these communities.
Annually, SSNIT branches have the chance to set up camp at various sites across the nation during the SSNIT Mobile Service (SMS) Week to bring the Trust’s services right to the doors of its members and clients.
To make it simple for Members and Clients to use the Trust’s services, a total of 69 vantage points have been chosen throughout the 16 regions of the nation.
Services being offered include the issuance of Statements of Accounts, registration of employers and workers, benefits processing initiation, renewal of Pensioner Certificates, merging of SSNIT and NIA numbers, general enquiries about the business and operations of SSNIT among other services.
The event being observed under the theme: “You also deserve a Pension; Join SSNIT today” began, on October 3, 2022, and is expected to end on Friday, October 7, 2022.
He indicated that self-employed workers in the country constitute the largest working population but most of these workers have no social security cover and it is in their interest to register onto the Scheme and enjoy the benefits.
“We assure you of our commitment to vigorously pursue and enrol all workers especially the self-employed. This is because the Trust recognises that the self–employed and workers in the informal sector form the majority of the 10 million or so workers in Ghana, and like their colleagues in the formal sector, they also deserve a pension”.
“The SSNIT Scheme is one of the surest ways to reduce and prevent poverty among the aged. So instead of re-echoing the misconceptions of low pensions which tend to discourage most self-employed, let’s share with them the value SSNIT provides and inform them that if their contributions or premiums are high, then their pensions will be high”, he said.
Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang further encourage everyone to support the Trust’s campaign by urging their families and friends within their circles to sign up onto the Scheme and enjoy the benefits the Scheme offers.
As part of measures to enhance service delivery, Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang noted that the Trust will soon introduce an enhanced and interactive self-service portal which will allow Members and Clients to perform a number of activities on the SSNIT’s website. These activities he said will enable employers to request, view and download a Clearance Certificate, request for a negotiation meeting for outstanding debts and also allow Members to initiate registration onto the Scheme, view nominee list, check member information, initiate and track benefits application, among other activities.
“Pensioners will also be able to renew their Pensioner Certificates and view pension payment Advice. I am happy to announce that in about a week from today, members can pay their contributions using Momo and pensioners can also opt to receive their pensions through Momo (ELEVY exempt) and by close of the year, the SSNIT app will be fully functional”, he added.
In his address, the Volta Regional Minister, Hon. Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa commended the management of SSNIT for leveraging technology to make the services of the Trust more accessible to Members and Clients.
“Technology has allowed for the reduction of administrative costs associated with printing of SSNIT Cards and reduced the time pensioners have to wait to collect their first pension as they can now payment within a maximum of two weeks after submitting their application”, he noted.
Since the beginning of the year, the Trust has been engaging stakeholders of the Scheme notably, players in the informal sector and self-employed as well as regional and district leaders of Organised Labour. The engagements formed part of deliberate efforts to extend coverage to the many self-employed workers who do not have any form of social security cover.
The SMS Week will also provide the Trust with the opportunity to intensify the education of Members and the public about their rights and responsibilities under the Scheme as the Trust seeks to sign on more Members, especially, self-employed workers onto the Scheme.
Customer Service Week
This year’s SMS also coincides with Customer Service Week – an international celebration instituted in 1991 and observed in the first week of October. The week is commemorated to appreciate the importance of customer service and of the people who serve and support customers on a daily basis.
Customer Service Week is observed in the first week of October and the event is celebrated annually across the globe to place emphasis on the importance of customer service and the people who provide those services.
The celebration is aimed at raising awareness on the value of customer service, rewarding employees for the significant work outputs, improving morale in the workplace and building on teamwork among other reasons.
About SSNIT
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT or the Trust) is a statutory public institution charged under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766 as amended by Act 883) with the administration of Ghana’s Basic National Social Security Scheme. Its mandate is to cater for the First-Tier of the Three-Tier Pension Scheme. Currently, the Trust is the largest non-bank financial institution in Ghana.
The SSNIT Scheme replaces part of the lost income of Members due to Old Age, Invalidity or upon the death of a Member, where nominated dependant(s) receive a lump sum payment. It also pays Emigration benefits to non-Ghanaian Members who are leaving Ghana permanently.
The SSNIT Pension Scheme has an active membership of over 1.7 million. In September 2022, the Trust paid a total of GH¢281.07 million to some 230,831 pensioners. The highest pension earner receives GH¢142,564.97 per month, while the lowest-earning pensioner gets GH¢300.00.
But at a press conference, the minority caucus on the Communication Committee kicked against the move to limit the registration to only the Ghana card.
The deputy minority spokesperson on the committee, Sam Nartey George, argued that the Legislative Instrument (211) clause (1) does not limit such exercises only to the Ghana card.
They describe the move to disconnect all persons who fail to register their sim cards by March next year, with the Ghana card as an affront to the rights of the citizen, he added.
The Minority proposed four-point steps to making the process a robust one including the withdrawal of the threat to disconnect all sim cards that fail to register by next year and scrapping of the physical visit to offices of the National Identification Authority (NIA )office for registration purposes.
The re-registration of mobile SIM cards started on 1st October 2021.
The exercise, which will last for six months, will end on 31st March 2022.
Any SIM which is not registered at the end of this exercise will be blocked, the Ministry of Communications and Digitization has disclosed.
In a bid to rid the country’s cyberspace of fraud, and monitor and track down persons who use their phones for criminal activities, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia announced that plans were underway to organize a sim re-registration exercise.
Addressing the 5th Ghana CEO Summit in Accra, the Vice President noted that any individual who fails to take part in the exercise risks losing his or her SIM card.
“We all have to do that otherwise we’ll lose that SIM card. That will really give us a real identity for all MoMo transactions. For example, it takes away fraud that is taking place like SIM box and through MoMo”, he added.
Prior to the postponement, the Bank stated that it was done so “to allow the decision on the policy rate to benefit from the broader talks to be held throughout the term.”
The MPC reviewed economic developments from Monday, September 20, 2022, through Friday, September 22, 2022, during its regularly scheduled meeting.
According to Nana Oboadie Boateng Bonsu, president of the Concerned Farmers Association, the 21% increase was insufficient and as a result, members have vowed to smuggle their produce to neighboring nations if the price is not increased.
He stated that rather than the GH800 declared by the government on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, cocoa growers were anticipating an increase of roughly GH1,500.
Mr Bonsu further accused government of not consulting cocoa farmers on the review of cocoa prices.
Speaking to Citi News on Thursday, October 6, 2022, he said, “The government has put in some effort, but this is not enough for us. We were expecting about GH¢1,500 so that we could at least have about GH¢250 for welfare and GH¢1,250 in the pocket of the farmer.”
“How can the cocoa farmers decide on a price and then government sit elsewhere and quotes its price without consulting us? There was no dialogue whatsoever. Our farmers are threatening to smuggle their produce to neighbouring countries if there is no further increment in the price.”
Government on Wednesday, October 6, 2022, increased the producer price for cocoa beans by 21%.
The new price is lower compared to Ivory Coast which pegged its price at about ¢858 for the same season.
Government in the announcement said the 21% rise in the producer price of cocoa was a testament to government’s resolve to ensure farmers earn a decent income and make cocoa farming lucrative.
According to the central bank, the action is anticipated to reduce inflation, which has been on the rise recently as a result of the depreciation of the cedi, increases in tariffs, and Ghana’s anticipation of accessing an IMF-supported program.
While spending have generally been on track, revenue performance has fallen short of projections, making it more difficult to implement fiscal policy.
“Financing the budget so far has been predominately done by 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 the financing of the budget resulting in the monetization of the budget deficit by the central bank,” he explained.
“The MPC recognises 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”
Dr. Addison, however, added that the outlook for the Ghana Cedi has improved aided by the recent disbursement of a $750 million loan facility from Afreximbank.
He also attributed the signing of the $1.13 billion COCOBOD syndicated loan and the agreement with gold and oil firms to purchase repatriated foreign exchange earnings estimated at US$83.9 million thus far will help stabilise the exchange rate.
“Inflation remains elevated and the balance of risk remains on the upside. Although the forecast 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.”
BoG Governor and Chairman of Committee, Dr. Ernest Addison made the announcement at a press conference held on October 6, 2022.
Following Ghana’s election to the ICAO Council, Mrs. Anita Adjei Nmashie, the country’s permanent representative to the ICAO, will represent Ghana on the ICAO Council for a three-year term.
Ghana won the election at the 41st ICAO Triennial Assembly, which is now taking place in Montreal, Canada, with a resounding majority of votes from the Member States in a hotly contested campaign.
The ICAO Council is a permanent body of the Organization responsible to the Assembly and composed of 36 Member States elected by the Assembly for a three-year term. In the election, adequate representation is given to States of Chief importance in Air Transport, States not otherwise included but which make the largest contribution to the provision of facilities for International Civil air navigation, and States not otherwise included whose designation will ensure that all major geographic area of the world is represented on the Council.
Mrs. Adjei-Nmashie, who is representing Ghana on the ICAO Council has served in the aviation industry for well over three decades. Having started her career with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority as the first female air traffic controller in a male-dominated profession, where she was the only woman among about 50 men.
As ambitious as she is and having tested the joy of controlling aircraft in Ghana’s Accra Flight Information Region (FIR), she decided to explore other areas in the aviation profession. She moved to the Safety Regulation Department, which was another male-dominated field, and became the first female Aviation Safety Inspector of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.
By dint of hard work and dedication to her profession, then Management promoted her to become the first female Manager for Aerodrome Safety and Standards in the Safety Regulation Department. The position placed her in charge of Aerodrome Certification, Surveillance, Obstruction Evaluation, and Airport Airspace Analysis (OEAAA) as well as other specialties in Ghana.
She successfully led a team of Aviation Safety experts to certify Ghana’s main international airport, which contributed to Ghana’s position as a pacesetter in aviation in the sub-region.
Ghana subsequently became a Champion State for Aerodrome Certification and Surveillance in Africa in collaboration with ICAO Regional Offices (WACAF and ESAF).
In 2018, Mrs. Adjei-Nmashie became the Deputy Director, Safety Regulation with a scope of oversight responsibilities covering Aerodrome Safety and Standards including certification of Helicopter Landing Sites and Ground Operations, Air Traffic Services, Personnel Licensing, Flight Operations, Aviation Security and Quality Control and Airworthiness.
Ghana had the highest Effective Implementation (EI) score of 89.89 in Africa under the Comprehensive and Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) USOAP Program in 2019.
Whilst addressing the Assembly on October 1, 2022, Ghana’s Minister for Transport Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah relied on Ghana’s enormous achievement in the aviation sector in the sub-region to solicit support for Ghana’s candidature for election to part 3 of the ICAO Council to represent the Western Region of Africa.
Ghana’s Transport Minister, together with H.E Anselm Ransford Sowah, Ghana’s Ambassador to Canada, and the Director General of the GCAA, Ing. Charles Ebo Kraikue held several meetings with other Member States to ensure that Ghana’s election to the Council was solidified.
Fiifi Boafo, the director of public affairs at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has stated that his organization has started a campaign to educate farmers about the dangers of handing up their land to galamsey, or unlawful small-scale mining.
In light of the difficulties facing the cocoa industry, he said that the majority of farmers give away their farms in exchange for money due to ignorance.
He claimed that the move puts the nation’s cocoa farming and production in danger.
Fiifi Boafo stated that his outfit was ready to represent cocoa farmers in court about any legal matters.
He, therefore, called on cocoa farmers to seek support from COCOBOD when faced with the challenge.
Speaking on Citi TV Point of View programme, the Director of Public Affairs at COCOBOD said, “COCOBOD is sponsoring a law to take into consideration what actually goes into the farm and the true value of it so that anyone moving in to take a cocoa farm and operating mining illegally there will have to pay the true value of the farm and this will serve as a disincentive.”
“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 added.
“The remuneration for cocoa farmers can be improved. In as much as the farmers’ income can be improved, 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,” he said.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the ranking member of the finance committee, characterized the recent increase in the producer price of cocoa as being quite little.
The 64kg bag of cocoa cost GH 800 following the government’s October 5, 2022 announcement of a 21% increase.
This is less expensive than Ivory Coast, which set its pricing for the same season [the 2022–2023 cocoa crop season] at around GH858.
Until the announcement, a bag of cocoa was selling for ¢660 a bag in Ghana.
Reacting to this in an interview with Citi News, Ato Forson stressed that the increment was very minimal.
But government in the announcement said the 21% rise in the producer price of cocoa was a testament to government’s resolve to ensure farmers earn a decent income and make cocoa farming lucrative.
Government added that to ensure a decent standard of living for Ghanaian cocoa farmers after retirement, it will from November 2022 move from the pilot phase to the implementation phase of the cocoa farmer’s pension scheme.
We hereby bring to the notice of the general public, a publication of the list of persons having accounts with Absa Bank Ghana Limited that have not been operated for a minimum of five (5) years and are classified as dormant, in accordance with the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).
He asserts that the management team and employees are set to turn BOST profitable over the long term in order to demonstrate to Ghanaians that state enterprises can be just as effective and successful as other global companies in the private sector.
In order to facilitate LPG distribution throughout the nation, Mr. Provencal further stated that Bost is planning to develop LPG farms across all sixteen regions of the country.
Mr Provencal made this known at a press briefing at the Ministry of Information in Accra yesterday.
He said plans are far advanced for the construction of a pipeline from Accra to Kumasi as part of efforts to improve efficiency in the distribution of petroleum products
Touching on allegations of fuel dilution and contamination, he said “I can assure Ghanaians that there will be no contamination within BOST as public organisation again.”
Further, he said though a country like Cote d’Ivoire is exporting refined petroleum products to some countries in the regions, Ghana’s petroleum products are much preferred due to its quality and is the most preferred.
The profit after tax of The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) increased to Ghc164 million in 2021 from Ghc2 million Cedis in the year 2020. This implies that the profit after tax of the firm grew 82 times compared to the 2020 figure recorded.
Among other things, the administrative expenses of BOST recorded a drastic reduction over the period with a record of Ghc 228.1million in 2021 with staff strength of 496 compared to a sum of Ghc 538.3 million recorded in 2016 as administrative expenses with staff strength of 347.
The drastic reduction in administrative expenses is attributed to the prudent management of operations by the current management team.
The company paid about US 611 million out of a debt portfolio of US622.7 million dollars.
The remaining 11.7 million dollars is expected to be cleared by the end of next year, according to Marlick Adjei, Head of Corporate Communications and External Affairs at BOST.
Out of the payment, the company’s internally generated funds (IGF) accounted for 70 per cent ($426 million), with the government providing 30 per cent through the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) bond, he explained.
In 2021 BOST generated a revenue of about Ghc 1.12 billion compared to Ghs632.7 million recorded in 2020.
BOST is also undertaking initiatives to stay on track in the execution of its mandate. These include the rehabilitation of 12 of its 15 storage tanks which stood decommissioned as at January 2017, revamping of its transmission lines and the rehabilitation of the tugboat and barges, which are all contributing to the revenue streams of the company.
This has kept the firm active and is presently exporting petroleum products to Mali.
The company’s export to Mali has grown from 0.3 per cent in 2019 to six percent, a remarkable achievement.
The company was ranked 8th on the Public Enterprises League Table in 2020.
According to the Head of Corporate Communications and External Affairs, the 2021 results speaks volumes and the company is expected to be counted among the first five properly run State Owned Enterprises in the country.
Professor Lord Mensah, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, has recommended the government to take decisive action with regard to its anticipated debt restructuring move in order to secure a program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
His remarks follow the World Bank’s Africa Pulse Report, which places Ghana’s debt at a horrifying percentage level.
According to the World Bank’s report for October 2022, by the end of this year 2022, Ghana’s debt will have increased from 76.6 percent of GDP to 104.6 percent.
According to its October 2022 Africa Pulse Report, this comes amid a widened government deficit, massive weakening of the cedi, and rising debt service costs.
The report comes at a time the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is conducting a debt sustainability analysis on the country.
The debt sustainability analysis assesses how a country’s current level of debt and prospective borrowing affect its present and future ability to meet debt service obligations.
Commenting on the report on Morning Starr with Francis Abban, Prof. Mensah said unless the government has a restructuring investment plan with the IMF it will not get any deal with the Bretton Woods Institution.
According to him, it’s problematic for the West African nation to have its debt exceeding 100 percent.
“The government seems to be wobbling on its decision to either call for debt restructuring and they are waiting to come and tell us that it’s the IMF that is calling for debt restructuring. But I am telling you that the IMF will not call for debt restructuring,” he said.
“But for us to get a program with them we have to do that because they will not lend to any country that is in debt distress. So we may have to negotiate on our debt and I am expecting the government to be bold enough to come out,” the senior lecturer advised.
He continued: “Now they are playing politics with it. So effectively they don’t have that confidence in coming to the investor and telling the investor that look this is the situation we found ourselves in. And as a result of that we may have to restructure your investment.”
Prof. Mensah however advised the government to improve its internal revenue generation and export ratio adding that the government must be quick in telling Ghanaians about the economic situation before going into any deal with the IMF.
Benjamin Nsiah reaffirmed in an interview with e.tv Ghana’s Fact Sheet that combining the state-owned utility with a private company would balance the conflict of interests and ultimately avert such metering crises.
“I think there’s a lot of impunities at ECG and I think government need to reconsider privatizing ECG. They are in this quagmire because of certain political and professional interest operating at the firm and we do so because the state owns almost 100% of this organization. It’s not a joint venture. So when we begin to privatize it, there will not be that conflict between political interest and private interest,” he told Sefah Danquah.
“I’ve heard a lot about it, people arguing that the professionals at ECG wanted to sabotage their MD because he was insisting that there be a transparency audit in the metering system. I mentioned earlier that there’s lot of impunities not only from the metering system and the vending challenges we are facing now because if you also take the auditor general’s report 2019-2020 you’ll weep for the State looking at how finances are bring misappropriated, contracts are being sole sourced and people continue to wreck the system. Now when you add that into this particular vending challenge we are facing it means that the state is not capable of managing the affairs of ECG,” he added.
Mr. Nsiah furthered that professionalism and quality service need to be prioritized by the various public utility service providers.
“For us to overcome this metering challenges that has to do with professionals at this particular State own entity and political internet which is the MD because they are appointed the party in government. Now for us to balance it we need a third party and that has to be a private equity interest in ECG which is the joint venture I think we need as a country to critical look at it to overcome certain misappropriations and irregularities and also these vending challenges,” he shared.
“To process our shea, we no longer need to spend a lot of time at the factory.
Majeed Neena, a member of one of the women’s shea groups that UNDP has helped with new equipment to assist their shea processing, says it is more than pleasing to see how much we produce in less time.
Many households in Ghana rely on shea and its byproducts for their livelihood, particularly in the Northern and Savannah regions.
Shea is harvested or processed into shea butter, which provides financial benefits to around 470,000 women farmers.
Women’s “gold” is a common description of shea butter.
Despite the great importance of shea to women, shea butter production has been largely done through manual labour-intensive processes.
This not only affects the quality of the shea products but also poses a great threat to women’s health. It has therefore become necessary to support women shea producers to improve their production efficiency with appropriate technology.
Empowering women for sustainable livelihoods
“I used to go through the traditional method of making shea butter solely with my hands, making the process very tiring”, Majeed Neena added.
To help address the challenges the women face in the shea value chain, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been providing comprehensive support to women cooperatives in the shea landscape through various integrated programmes including the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project.
A group of selected women were also supported through the UNDP Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme to receive Ecocert for Fair-Trade Certification to sell shea products in the international market.
In addition, these selected women received $200,000 from the UNDP Africa Regional programme through the Assistant UN Secretary-General and Regional Director for Africa, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, during her visit last year to Ghana.
The support is to help the women acquire more machinery to facilitate their operations. These supports have gone a long way to help the over 3000 women in shea production in 14 communities in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region of Ghana, who are members of Ripples Ghana, an NGO.
“Our production capacity has increased from 75 kilograms of shea at a centre per week to 125 kilograms when we started using the new machines we received. I am now able to engage more women,” noted Hajia Rabiatu Abukari, Producer of Malti Products and Director of Ripples Ghana, a shea-producing NGO in the Northern Region of Ghana.
The shea processing machinery was locally manufactured. These include crashers, kneaders, millers, roasters, washers, and grilling mills. As part of the support, the women also rehabilitated their structures to meet good local factory standards.
“We are aging and don’t have enough energy to manually crush the shea nut. We are grateful for this immense support”, stated Hajia Fatimata, a leader of one of the women shea-producing groups at Malti Products.
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, and welcome to the press conference following this week’s 108th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sessions.
The Committee discussed current macroeconomic trends and evaluated the outlook’s risks for inflation and growth.
Below is a summary of the evaluation and major factors that influenced the committee’s choice of monetary policy stance.
Global economic conditions remain challenging. Global growth is slowing more than anticipated, and financing conditions have tightened some more since the August MPC Emergency Meeting, reflecting further synchronous tightening of monetary policy rates across Advanced Economies and Emerging Markets.
The Russia-Ukraine war has persisted, dragging down growth and putting additional upward pressure on prices, especially for food and energy with economic and social spillovers. Against the backdrop of these headwinds, the IMF World Economic Outlook update in July 2022 projected global growth at 3.2 percent in 2022, almost half of the 6.1 percent outturn recorded in 2021.
The wave of inflationary pressures spreading across several economies remain elevated and have now become broad-based across all items in the consumer basket. However, there are signs that global price pressures may be peaking as the major drivers of inflation ease somewhat, alongside the synchronized tightening of monetary policy across countries. The Fed’s initial estimates which showed that global supply chain disruptions have eased steadily since May 2022, the fifth consecutive monthly decline in the Food and Agricultural Organisation’s food price index for August 2022, and the recent dip in crude oil prices on the back of weakened global growth prospects, are all suggestive of peaking of global inflation.
Global financing conditions remain tight as central banks in Advanced Economies raise policy rates significantly to decisively contain inflationary pressures. The Fed’s continued hike in interest rates has strengthened the US dollar, instigating a sharp rise in long term bond yields, along with a sharp decline in stock prices. The monetary policy tightening trend, has resulted in widening sovereign bond spreads across Emerging Market and Developing Economies, leading to higher currency depreciation, currency risks, and elevated debt profiles.
On the domestic front, economic growth appeared strong in the second quarter. The latest data released by the Ghana Statistical Service estimated real GDP growth for the second quarter of 2022 at 4.8 percent, compared with 4.2 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2021.
Non-oil GDP grew slower at 6.2 percent against 6.6 percent growth in the same comparative period. The relatively strong growth recorded in the second quarter was largely driven by the service and industry sectors, the latter bolstered by the manufacturing sub-sector.
The latest Bank of Ghana high frequency indicators signalled some moderation in economic activity. The Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) recorded an annual growth of 0.5 percent in July 2022, compared to 1.6 percent in June 2022, and 5.0 percent in December 2021. The sources of the slowdown were from construction and port activities.
Reserve money, for the period under review, increased at a slower pace relative to a year ago. Annual growth in reserve money was 33.1 percent in August 2022, compared with 36.1 percent in August 2021. Broad money supply (M2+) increased marginally due to a sharp fall in Net Foreign Assets which moderated the expansion in the Net Domestic Assets (NDA) of the depository corporations sector. M2+ grew by 23.4 percent year-on-year in August 2022, compared with 20.2 percent in the same period of 2021.
The latest credit conditions survey conducted in August 2022 indicated an overall net tightening of credit stance to corporates and households by the commercial banks. This was reflected in the steady increase in average lending rates. This notwithstanding, new advances increased by 56.1 percent year-on-year to GH¢33.8 billion in August 2022, relative to a 4.9 percent increase in August 2021. Annual growth in private sector credit was 35.8 percent in August 2022, compared with 9.6 percent a year ago. In real terms, private sector credit increased, albeit marginally, to 1.4 percent due to sustained price pressures. This compares with a contraction of 0.2 percent over the same period in 2021.
Results from the Bank’s August 2022 confidence surveys showed further softening of Business and Consumer sentiments. While consumer confidence dipped on account of rising inflation, business sentiments softened on the back of concerns about price pressures, currency depreciation, and weakening consumer demand. The survey findings were broadly in line with an observed downturn in Ghana’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in August 2022.
Banking sector performance however remained resilient as at end-August 2022. Total assets increased by 22.9 percent on year-on-year basis to GH¢204.6 billion in August 2022 due to sustained growth in deposits, compared to a 16.7 percent annual growth in the previous year. Total deposits increased by 22.5 percent to GH¢136.7 billion, relative to 21.8 percent growth in August 2021.
The key Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) of the banking industry have remained positive in the year, with Capital Adequacy Ratio at 18.1 percent, well above the regulatory minimum of 13.0 percent. The sector was also liquid, reflected by an increase in the core liquid assets to short-term liabilities to 31.1 percent in August 2022 from 24.7 percent in the previous year. Asset quality also improved as the Non-Performing Loans ratio declined to 14.3 percent at end-August 2022, from 17.3 percent in August 2021, reflecting partly, the higher level of outstanding loans.
Profit before tax for banks stood at GH¢6.1 billion in August 2022, representing an annual growth of 25.2 percent, compared to 27.4 percent in the previous year.
Net interest income grew by 17.3 percent, compared to 17.9 percent. Net fees and commissions also increased by 26.9 percent to GH¢2.3 billion, compared with 21.8 percent growth in the previous year, reflecting the rebound in credit growth as well as an increase in trade finance-related business.
Other income of banks grew by 85.6 percent to GH¢2.0 billion, compared with a contraction of 5.4 percent a year ago. These developments resulted in a 25.5 percent growth in operating income to GH¢14.2 billion, relative to a growth of 15.7 percent in the previous year.
Operating expenses, however, increased sharply by 24.3 percent in August 2022, compared to 9.0 percent growth in August 2021, partly reflecting the impact of inflation on banks’ operations.
Price pressures have remained elevated. The latest reading indicated that headline inflation accelerated to 33.9 percent in August 2022, from 31.7 percent in July and 29.8 percent in June. The rise in the August inflation was broad-based, driven by both food and non-food prices.
Food inflation rose to 34.4 percent from 32.3 percent in July, whereas non-food inflation jumped to 33.6 percent from 31.3 percent, over the same comparative period. The upturn in food and non-food inflation was influenced by prices of both local and imported components in the consumer price basket.
In line with these trends, underlying inflation pressures remained heightened. The Bank’s core inflation measure, which excludes energy and utility, increased further to 32.6 percent in August, from 30.2 percent in July 2022. Similarly, all the other core measures of inflation rose, reflecting the generalised increase in price levels.
The Bank’s latest surveys showed increased inflation expectations across consumers, businesses, and the financial sectors. Notwithstanding the above trends, monthly inflation has declined for four consecutive months, reflecting a slowdown in the rate of increase in inflation.
Short term interest rates on the money market have reflected recent developments, while medium-term to long-term rates have remained relatively behind the yield curve. For example, while the discount rate on the 91-day instrument has increased to 29.7 percent in September 2022 from 12.5 percent in September 2021, the coupon rates on the 7-year, 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year have remain unchanged at 18.1 percent, 19.8 percent, 20.0 percent, and 20.2 percent respectively.
The interbank market weighted average rate has increased to 22.05 percent in September 2022 from 12.61 percent in September 2021, consistent with the rise in the policy rate. Average lending rates of banks have also adjusted upwards to 29.81 percent in September 2022 from 20.20 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Budget implementation, using banking sector data, for the first 9-months of the year recorded an elevated overall cash deficit of 6.4 percent of GDP, against the revised programmed target of 5.0 percent of GDP. Total receipts of GH¢51.49 billion (8.7 percent of GDP) over the review period, fell short of projected target of GH¢60.08 billion (10.2 percent of GDP), and represented 85.7 percent of the budgeted estimate.
Total payments of GH¢89.04 billion (15.0 percent of GDP) was almost on target, representing 99.5 percent of GH¢89.46 billion (15.1 percent of GDP). The deficit of GH¢37.56 billion, together with net foreign loan repayments of GH¢3.54 billion, created a resource gap of GH¢41.1 billion, which was financed from domestic sources and use of resources from the stabilization fund.
Ghana’s main export commodities saw mixed developments on the international markets. The strong rally in Brent crude oil prices since the start of 2022 slowed somewhat to settle at US$97.74 per barrel, representing a 30.7 percent year-to-date gain on the back of global recession concerns. On cocoa, prices have eased to US$2,385.96 per tonne, representing a contraction of 3.9 percent on year-to-date basis.
Gold price also fell by 1.5 percent to settle at US$1,763.71 per fine ounce due to higher bond yields and a strong US dollar, as the US Fed reaffirmed its commitment to bring inflation under control.
At the end of August 2022, the trade surplus was US$1.7 billion, far exceeding the surplus of US$892.4 million recorded in August 2021. This was driven by higher receipts from gold, crude oil and non-traditional exports, notwithstanding increased demand for oil and gas imports. Total exports went up by 19.5 percent year-on-year to US$11.8 billion. Crude oil exports totalled U$3.8 billion, 56.5 percent higher than observed in 2021, mainly due to price effects.
Gold export earnings also went up by 23.9 percent to US$4.2 billion, supported by increased production volumes triggered by the positive response from small scale gold exporters to the downward revision of the withholding tax regime from 3 percent to 1.5 percent.
However, on account of lower prices and low cocoa purchases, cocoa receipts declined by 22.8 percent to US$1.7 billion from US$2.1 billion. Total merchandise imports grew by 12.9 percent on a year-on-year basis to US$10.2 billion, mainly driven by higher oil and gas import bill of US$3.1 billion at end-August 2022, relative to US$1.7 billion in the same period of 2021. Non-oil imports, however, dipped by 3.8 percent year-on-year to US$7.1 billion in the review period.
The stock of Gross International Reserves declined to US$6.6 billion, equivalent to 2.9 months of import cover for goods and services in September 2022. This compares with the December 2021 position of US$9.7 billion, equivalent to 4.3 months of import cover. Net International Reserves, which excludes encumbered assets and petroleum funds, is estimated at US$2.7 billion as at September 2022.
In the year to September 2022, the Ghana Cedi has depreciated by 37.5 percent, 24.1 percent, and 27.5 percent against the US dollar, the pound, and Euro, respectively. In comparison with the same period of 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 depreciation of the currency was driven by higher crude oil product import bill on the back of rising prices, non-roll over of maturing bonds by non-resident investors, portfolio reversals and sudden exit of non-resident investors in the bond market, as well as loss of market access to Eurobond resources. 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.
Summary and Outlook
Recent global developments reflect among others, heightened economic and policy uncertainties, fostered by the strong commitment on the part of advanced economies to decisively tackle inflation.
This has triggered a wave of monetary policy tightening stance by most central banks across advanced economies and strengthening of the US dollar. Against other major international currencies, the US Dollar has appreciated by some 15 percent.
Consequently, global financing conditions have tightened further since the start of 2022, with spillovers in the financial markets of emerging markets and developing economies.
Driven in large part by these factors, several currencies have weakened against the US dollar, resulting in faster-paced capital flow reversals from emerging and developing economies, including Ghana.
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.
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 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.
Under the circumstances, the MPC decided to increase the Monetary Policy Rate by 250 basis points to 24.5 percent.
The International Monetary Fund will not provide funding to Ghana if it is determined that its debts are unsustainable, according to policy risk expert Dr. Theo Acheampong.
He claims that the IMF has made it clear that nations with unsustainable debt cannot get loans from the organization.
Myjoyonline quotes him as saying: “The IMF will only lend if they are confident that a country’s debt is sustainable.
The IMF is prohibited from financing to members who have unsustainable debt unless they take efforts to restore that sustainability, which may involve debt restructuring, according to a statement on their website that I’d like to repeat here once more.
“And to determine whether your debt is sustainable or not, there are four bands that they will do in the DNC analysis. You’re either classified as being low-risk, moderate-risk, high-risk, or in debt distress. And as of last year, when that DNC was done in July, we were already classified as being at high risk of both external and overall debt distress,” he is quoted by myjoyonline.com.
Dr. Acheampong however said Ghana needs to commence a debt-restructuring process before advancing discussions with the IMF.
“So, given where we are now with the extra deficit and the extra spending I personally won’t be surprised if we move up into the next category already being in debt distress which then means that we will have to fundamentally commence a debt restructuring exercise before accessing the IMF financing,” he said.
Captain (Rtd) Prince Kofi Amoabeng, the founder of the now-defunct Unique Trust Bank, has spoken out about how the banking sector clean-up exercise has affected his financial and personal life.
He claims that the demise of UT Bank and its consequences led him to sell off his mansion in order to keep from going bankrupt.
The former head of the UT bank revealed that he currently only had one pair of shoes and a watch to his name in an interview with Accra-based TV3.
“I have one watch and one shoe. So, I do not need much money. I don’t have to have a lot of money to enjoy life. I’m very comfortable. I live in an apartment. I sold my mansion to reorganise myself and for me not to go broke.”
“I’m not too much worried about people like me but I am worried about people who need validation and get so corrupt and do all sort of things that impacts the country and the younger generation negatively,” he added.
Following a recent image which went viral on social media, Prince Kofi Amoabeng said philanthropist and businessman, Seidu Agongo, offered to extend his benevolence to him when he appeared in images wearing an unusually scruffy beard.
The image however forced social media users to raise concerns over the health and well-being of the former UT bank founder.
It appears that no amount of trolls, insults, and jail terms could deter Mr. Kwame Owusu Forjour, popularly known as Dr. UN, from organizing another edition of the infamous ‘Global Blueprint Excellence Awards’, as he is set to stage the next one in November.
This comes after the maiden edition held on August 28, 2020, in Accra, which honoured a host of Ghanaian personalities and celebrities including Sarkodie, D-Black, Nathaniel Attoh, Daughters of Glorious Jesus, Natalie Fort, and many others.
Dr. UN’s controversial awards scheme has since been described by many as a total sham following revelations that it had no affiliation with the United Nations (UN) as he had touted.
He had been accused of using the United Nations and former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan’s name to make the award scheme appear credible, a claim he has fought off vehemently.
Although he has suffered dire consequences, which include receiving severe trolls for giving out fake award plagues, being arrested on multiple counts, and being physically assaulted, among several others, Dr. UN said Ghanaians are in for another surprise.
“I am not moved by what Ghanaians said about my awards. I have been through hell after organizing these awards. I have been beaten twice just for organizing an award. All that I have been through will not deter me from organizing another award,” He told Graphic Showbiz.
“The venue and everything else is ready. Come November, it will happen. I do my things orderly and because I want to get everything right, I have whatever I need for the awards and trust me this awards will be super,” he added.
The Agona Swedru Magistrate Court has remanded a 24-year-old driver for allegedly killing Opanyin Kweku Oppong Abdulai, a 70-year-old cocoa farmer at Agona Abodom in the Central Region.
The plea of the accused, Samuel Appiah, was not taken and would reappear in court on October 17.
Prosecuting Sergeant Emmanuel Akunor told the court presided over Mr Isaac Apeatu that the accused resides at Ofaakor, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central region.
He said the complainant in the case was Madam Halifatu Abdulai, a daughter of the deceased based at Agona Abodom in the Agona West.
The prosecution said the deceased owned a cocoa farm at Dapong, a village near Upper Bobikuma, and shared boundary with the accused father’s cocoa farm, of which the accused is the caretaker.
He said about three weeks ago, the accused visited the village and a misunderstanding ensued between him and the deceased over missing cocoa beans that belonged to the deceased, which the accused was suspected of stealing.
The prosecution said according to the complainant, she received a call on September 21, from her late father to come to him because he was afraid the accused might harm him due to the accused’s demeanour.
The complainant later received another call from a nearby village that the deceased had gone missing, and that a search team highly suspected the accused arrested and handed him over to the Upper Bobikuma Police for investigation.
The prosecution said while the search team continued with the search on September 22, the body of the late Opanyin Abdulai was found lying under a mango tree covered with timber slaps and was taken to the Swedru Government Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The prosecution said after intensive interrogations, the accused confessed killing the 70-year-old cocoa farmer for accusing him of stealing the cocoa beans.
Director-General, National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh, says houses built on waterways in the Weija-Gbawe Municipality will be demolished “immediately” the flood recedes.
He said that had become necessary to maintain buffers of the Weija Dam to contain water whenever there was spillage.
The NADMO Director-General said this after he visited communities within the Municipality that had flooded following spillage from the Dam.
He visited the Weija Dam Site, Tatop, and White Cross to commiserate with affected persons and then proceeded to the Bojo Beach , where an estuary had been created to direct the floods into the sea.
Mr Agyemang Prempeh said persons whose houses would be affected in the demolition would not be compensated because they had built on unauthorised routes.
He said checks indicated that none of the residents on those sites had permit to build there.
Mr Agyemang Prempeh said NADMO would provide relief items to the affected victims and ensure they were properly evacuated and accommodated.
Some residents who spoke to the GNA said NADMO and the Assembly must compensate them before they demolished their buildings.
TV personality Delay has said in a tweet that success is not sexually transmitted.
Seemingly directed at women who are in the habit of seeking out wealthy men for romantic relationships in pursuit of money and success, Delay said this on October 3, 2022.
“Hello there, dating a rich guy doesn’t guarantee that you’ll make it in life,” the entrepreneur and TV show host began.
“Success is not sexually transmitted [smile emoji],” she concluded in the tweet.
Born Deloris Frimpong Manso, Delay’s Twitter bio describes her as “numbed by the will to gain.”
Hello there, dating a rich guy doesn’t guarantee that you’ll make it in life.
Success is not sexually transmitted 😊
— The Delay Show Is Back On TV3 🐆🌙☀️ (@delayghana) October 3, 2022
The people of Wuru Community in the Sissila East Community of the Upper West Region have appealed to the government to bring developments to the community to enable them to pay taxes to the appropriate authority to enjoy their portion of the national cake.
According to the people, the community felt cut off from the rest of the country and that had deprived them of basic developments. to ensure that the community benefitted from the national cake.
Mr Harduna Atiah, a business man and caretaker of the Wuru community market told the Ghana News Agency that, “There are no roads to link Wuru to other Ghanaian communities where we can transact business. No transportation, no reliable communication network, no health facilities, poor educational infrastructure and no means of modern technology for farming.”
He said they used to pay tax to the Tumu Municipal Assembly but for some time now, they had to stop because they saw no reason for the payment.
“Currently, we have decided not to pay tax. Our taxes cannot be used to develop other areas while we suffer”, he said.
Mr Atiah said members of the community were in “prison” and asked for pragmatic efforts to be made to integrate them with the rest of the country.
The GNA traveled to the Wuru community to find out their problems and to report same for government to consider supporting them.
The community is about 70 kilometres from Tumu, which took the GNA three hours to travel to the community on a motorbike.
The community has a CHPS compound with only one male nurse stationed there with no decent accommodation, no electricity to store drugs, meant for immunization and no reliable source of drinking water.
Due to the poor nature of the road, only motorbikes can travel there, which compelled the community to transact business with neighbouring Burkina Faso thereby, rejecting the Ghana cedi as medium of exchange.
The GNA observed that the many Burkinabes who transacted business in the community did not also pay tax.
Mr Fuseini Batong Yakubu, the Sissalla East MCE said the Assembly had not been able to collect tax from the community due to the lack of access road.
He said the Assembly was planning to erect a permanent tax collection shed at the market for the tax collectors.
“I have also met with the chief and the secretary of the Bujan Area Council to hold meetings with the people to see the need to pay market tolls as that would help us to use the IGF to undertake development in the area. The business persons coming from Burkina Faso are supposed to pay income tax”, he explained.
Mr Yakubu said he had also appealed to the chief of Wuru to help in identifying and registering the number of aliens settling in the area.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says more children were vaccinated than targeted during the first round of the 2022 polio immunisation exercise, held in September.
Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, the Manager of Expanded Programme on Immunisation, GHS, said though the Service exceeded its target, a few children could not partake in the exercise.
At a press briefing in Accra, he said the exercise achieved complete coverage in almost all regions, with a few achieving between 80 to 95 per cent depending on certain circumstances encountered.
Polio is a vaccine-preventable disease that causes paralysis and death. The polio virus enters the body through water or food contamination with faeces containing the virus.
The virus affects both children and adults but children under-five years are most at risk.
In all 16 regions, 261 districts were covered with 6,558,459 children under-five years being vaccinated instead of the 6,298,330 targeted, representing 104.1 per cent.
Dr Amponsah-Achiano said the exercise encountered some challenges such as low caregiver awareness of the campaign, fading of finger marking in some of the districts after 24 hours, and heavy rains, which washed away some of the house markings.
He expressed worry over the failure of parents and caregivers in availing their children to be immunised, which would put those children at risk of polio infection, leading to an outbreak.
“The new Polio outbreak started in the West African sub-region in 2016 and Ghana got an outbreak in 2019 with two new cases in 2022,” he added.
Dr Amponsa-Achiano said the GHS would use dialogue and every other means to reach and convince parents, who refuse to avail their children for the exercise.
The second round of the polio vaccination for children under-five years starts from Thursday, October 6, to Sunday, October 9, 2022, targeting an approximately 6.9 million children.
The GHS had improved on its preparations for the second round in social mobilisation, maintaining strategies, while district reorientation was ongoing with jingles in local languages, as well as bulk social media messages for public awareness.
Dr Patrick Kumah Aboagye, the Director-General, GHS, said the objective of the campaign was to stop the local transmission of the polio virus, maintain high population immunity, strengthen surveillance on the disease and prevent further outbreak in the country.
He said despite the achievement, some districts were not equitably covered, hence efforts were geared towards reaching every child.
“Every child must be covered to achieve the full objectives,” he said.
“We must build on the achievement and do more during the upcoming second round of the polio campaign so that no child is left behind.”
Dr Aboagye urged the public to observe personal hygiene and good sanitation practices, including washing hands regularly with soap under running water and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
He cautioned the public on the appropriate disposal of human waste, avoiding open defecation, and cleaning toilets and surfaces contaminated with faeces with disinfectants.
The Director-General said Polio had no cure but could be prevented through immunisation, good hygiene and best sanitation practices.
He encouraged parents and caregivers of children under five years to continue attending child welfare clinics to ensure that their children received the necessary vaccines and other packages of interventions that promoted healthy childhood.
“We request parents and caregivers to ensure that their children complete all vaccinations by the time they are two years old to protect them against vaccine preventable diseases,” he added.
The Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry (GhCCI) has elected new executive officers for a three-year mandate to help turn the fortunes of the built environment.
They are Mr Nene Martey of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, who retained his position as Chairman, Nana Opare-Kwafo II, Vice-chairman and Mrs Harriet Naa Lamiley Bentil, Chief Executive Officer of Solidcast construction and Rareoaks limited as the General-secretary.
The newly elected executive officers, together with a representation from the Chamber’s constituents, would form the governing council of the GhCCI to take strategic decisions to drive its policies.
The election supervised by the Eastern Regional Electoral Commission was held in Koforidua as part of the GhCCI annual infrastructure conference.
The GhCCI is an advocacy and policy-driven for the built environment with a make-up of the Association of Road Contractors (ASROC), the Progressive Road Construction Association (PROCA), the Ghana Institution of Engineers, the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, the Ghana Institution of Architects and the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA).
Others are the Artisans Association of Ghana (AAG), Ghana Electrical Contractors Association (GECA), the Ghana Institution of Planners and the Ghana Electronic Security and Safety Association (GESSA) and others.
Mr Martey expressed his appreciation to the members for the confidence reposed in him for the second time and pledged to lead the team to chart a progressive path for the Chamber.
He noted that one of the issues to deal with was the delay of payment by government to those in the road construction sector and assured of their commitment to address it.
He announced that plans were advanced for the construction of an office complex for the Chamber to facilitate their operations.
“In the coming weeks and months, we are going to work harder, of course with the support of all members, to champion the establishment of the Construction Industry Development Authority as a state regulatory body,” he noted.
Earlier, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin Okyenhene, who chaired the conference, indicated that despite the progress made in the infrastructural sector, a lot remained to be done and urged the Chamber to use their expertise to support the government close the gap.
“For instance, lack of a superhighway to connect two cities in Ghana without any hitch, or a highway which guarantees safety of all road users in 65 years of nationhood is a big hurdle, which the nation must cross,” he added.
A total of 296 companies have so far been captured under the government’s flagship programme, One District One Factory (1D1F) as of September 2022, Mr Kofi Addo, Lead Officer for 1D1F, Ministry of Trade and Industry 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 radial.
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 out of the number, 125 were in operations, 144 were under construction while 27 were in the pipeline noting that those in the pipelines had all their documentations ready to start the construction for the project.
1D1F Lead Officer also said 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 had1D1F projects in 19 districts of which the Tema Metropolis had two companies benefitting.
Mr. Addo said the Ministry of Trade and Industry had a 10-point industrial promotion agenda, which the 1D1F was part, adding that others were the Strategic Anchor Projects, Business Regulatory Reform, Industrial Park and Special Economic Zones, and the Industrial Revitalization Programme, among others.
He mentioned that the key principles of the 1D1F include private sector driven, 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 creating of new subsidiary just like in the case 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 in import substitution, support for export, industries support, as well as opening the country up for economic activities through which jobs would be created.
He said some incentives 1D1F companies received was 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 agreement had been signed with 15 commercial banks, which ensured the capping of interest rate 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 gotten to a stage, where it did not have a choice than 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.
