TIG Post

Author: Chris Kodo

  • ECG audits system – Fears cyber attack

    In order to determine what caused a technical malfunction that disrupted service for many of its prepaid clients across the nation, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is conducting a thorough audit of its system.

    The national energy distributor is receiving assistance from the National Security Ministry and the Cyber Security Authority in figuring out how the system malfunctioned and how to prevent it from happening again in the future.

    William Boateng, ECG’s director of communications, revealed this in an interview with the Daily Graphic on Friday, September 30, 2022. He claimed there was a strong suspicion that the system had been compromised, which is why the Cyber Security Authority was providing support.

    “We have done an initial assessment and it was more than the challenge we suspected. Given the magnitude of the issue, a possible system hacking has not been ruled out, so the National Security and cybersecurity experts are currently helping us to undertake a comprehensive assessment to find out what happened and how a recurrence can be prevented.

    “The challenge is being resolved in phases and while we are at it, customers in the Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, Western and Volta regions can visit our district offices to purchase electricity.

    “Also, the team is working to restore the systems in the affected areas in Kumasi and Tema, as well as the Third party vending centres and the Mobile App,” Mr Boateng stated.

    Situation

    Since last Tuesday, many ECG customers have struggled to purchase credit on their prepaid meters, either by using the ECG App or from vending outlets.

    The power supplier has encountered technical challenges with its ECash and PNS Metering System which has made it impossible for customers to purchase credit.

    The situation is widespread and has left the affected customers, both domestic and commercial, stranded.

    Ten operational regional areas of the ECG in the Volta, Kumasi, Accra, Takoradi, Tema, Cape Coast, Kasoa, Winneba, Swedru, Koforidua, Nkawkaw, and Tafo were all affected, according to a statement issued by the ECG last Wednesday.

    It started last Monday and as of yesterday, it was yet to be completely fixed.

    Tema

    For instance in Tema, a number of consumers massed up on the premises of the Community 11 District Office to express concern over their inability to buy credit for their prepaid metres.

    The customers from different suburbs of Tema as well as Ashaiman and Kpone formed long queues as they desperately tried to gain entry to purchase power with their prepaid cards.

    It was a charged atmosphere as the customers started shouting and calling on the ECG staff, whom they claimed had frustrated them and demanded that officials be sacked.

    “We have been buying power without any hitches in the past until someone decided to introduce new metres and systems, see how we are suffering? One agitated customer said.

    ” My power has been off since Wednesday and my family and I have had to sleep in darkness. Food items stored in my freezer have all gone bad, that is how bad the situation has been,” another also complained.

    “Business is already tough and for the past three days, we have been without power, meaning we have had to spend more to buy diesel to power the generator at a time that we are supposed to be conserving income.

    “Is that how best ECG can serve after the tariff increment?” another customer lamented.

    At Teshie, there were long queues as people trooped in from around the municipality to either replenish their electricity units or procure more to forestall any eventualities.

    From Cape Coast, Shirley Asiedu-Addo reports that there was a queue of hundreds yesterday seeking to buy energy at the ECG main office at Tantri, the only sale point.

    They had come from around Cape Coast to purchase electricity credit.

    While some had their electricity units (credit) finished days earlier, others said they were there to buy extra credits in case of contingencies.

    The long queue reduced by afternoon as ECG staff worked to ensure order and smooth sale.

    The Regional Public Relations Officer of ECG, Awal Boye, said the system began working last Thursday and workers had to stay in till 10 p.m. to serve customers.

    He said four prepaid sale points in the region, including Cape Coast, Kasoa, Swedru and Winneba were now selling credits at their district offices.

    Mr Boye indicated that the company was working to ensure the vending points of sale also had their network systems rectified.

    Some patrons said urged ECG to work to forestall future reoccurrence.

    Mr Boateng said the company was concerned about the frustrations of its customers, hence its staff and the and authorities were working around the clock to restore the entire situation.

    Consequently, the ECG Director of Communications said all the ECG district offices would extend their working hours this weekend to serve customers as the company tried to get the situation to normal, while the problem was being resolved in phases.

    He said all the offices would open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the weekend to ensure that the backlog of customers wishing to buy power was cleared.

  • iPhone 14 scalpers allegedly forced to sell phones on the street at a discount

    Chinese iPhone 14 scalpers are apparently struggling to recover their investment as they are forced to sell the handheld for less than the MSRP price.

    Like it or not, scalpers are an integral part of the free market, and there is little anyone can do about them. Whether it’s the Playstation 5 or the newest iPhone, they’re always ready to scoop up whatever inventory is available and sell it for outrageous profits to diehard fans with little patience and loaded pockets. That said, scalping does have its risks, and the recent iPhone 14 launch is a clear example of that. Chinese media has been reporting that scalpers have been forced to sell their brand new iPhone 14 smartphones on the street for less than the official launch price just to cut their losses.

    Photos of iPhone 14 scalpers sitting on the pavement with stacks of smartphones in front of them have been doing the rounds in China. These are incredulous scenes that few, especially the scalpers themselves, ever imagined. And yet, here we are.

    So, what went wrong for scalpers this time around? Well, experts say that it was a combination of factors. Even though scalpers rushed to acquire as many iPhone 14 phones as they could afford on launch day, thinking that they could sell them for a handsome profit in the following days, the landscape was different than previous iPhone launches.

    For starters, no one expected Apple to have such a well-organized launch, with delivery times exceeding consumer expectations. Then there was the below-average demand for the handheld in China, with many of those fearing a recession postponing the switch from a previous generation. Finally, there was the fact that the smartphone market has become even more competitive than before.

    In conclusion, instead of selling their iPhone 14 phones for a profit of at least 5,000 or 6,000 yuan ($700 – $850) per unit, scalpers were forced to sell them for less than the official launch price, just to cut their losses. Social media is full of posts from scalpers complaining about low demand from consumers, with some claiming that they were forced to sell them for 1,000 yuan ($140) less than the buying price.

    Now, photos of desperate scalpers squatting at the gate of Tianhuan in the Chinese city of Guangzhou recently went viral on social media, attracting even more attention to their plight. According to local sources, they are selling new iPhone 14 phones at prices 500 to 1,000 yuan lower than official vendors.

     

  • 55-year-old pastor beheads wife at Assin Bereku

    The police are holding the founder and head of the Truth Redemption Church in Assin Bereku after he is accused of beheading his own wife.

    According to a story from Kasapafmonline.com that GhanaWeb was able to see, Yaw Owusu, 55, went to the farm on September 29, 2022, with his wife Victoria Owusu, but he came home alone.

    When questioned about his wife’s location, the suspect made conflicting claims.

    The chief and elders of Assin Bereku who suspected foul play in Yaw Owusu’s account handed him over to the police in Assin Bereku who arrested the suspect.

    Following his arrest, dozens of angry Assin Brereku youth besieged the police station to demand the release of the suspect for instant justice to be dealt on him.

    Yaw Owusu has since been transferred from the Bereku Police Station to Assin Fosu while the body of his late wife has been retrieved by the police and deposited at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital Mortuary.

  • Woman claims to have been living on water alone for the last 41 years

    A Vietnamese woman claims to have given up solid food over four decades ago and survived on water spiked with a bit of salt, sugar and lemon juice ever since.

    63-year-old Ms. Ngon is famous in her native Tan Trach commune, Vietnam’s Long An province, for her very unique diet. For the last 41 years, she has allegedly been living on water with a few grams of salt and sugar, as well as a bit of lemon juice, completely shunning all other nutrients. She not only appears to be in tip-top shape for her age, but she is in great health, is always full of energy and can execute Yoga poses that people decades younger than her wouldn’t even dream of attempting. She considers water vital to her health in the same way that watering is to a tree.

    Ms. Ngon used to eat rice and other solid foods until the age of 21, when she started dealing with serious health problems. Her vision started deteriorating, her stomach ached constantly and she would vomit on a daily basis. Blood tests revealed that she suffered from a blood disease. After attempting the prescribed treatment without seeing any significant improvement to her health, she decided to quit her medication, thinking she didn’t have long to live.

    That’s when a doctor allegedly came to her and advised her to start drinking water mixed with a bit of salt and sugar and quit eating solid foods. He told her he could squeeze some fruit juice in the water if she wanted, but nothing else. The mystery man told her that following this diet would help save her vision and maybe even cure her blood disease, but he insisted that she never reveal his name to anyone, because the method was completely unscientific and people would criticize him for it.

    The woman kept her promise even after her benefactor passed away. No one, not even her family knows his name, and no one ever will. The one thing she can say is that his advice worked, and she is living proof of that. However, she doesn’t recommend the water-based diet to anyone, because she acknowledges that it can be dangerous. She considers her case a miracle, and credits her religious beliefs for the diet’s success.

    Ms. Ngog recalled that when she started living exclusively on water, 41 years ago, her family was completely against it, accusing her of wanting to starve herself to death. At one point, they threatened to go on a hunger strike with her, so they could die together, but she managed to convince them that she wasn’t trying to end her life, but that the exact opposite was true. When her health started improving, they stopped asking her to eat regular food.

    The 63-year-old admitted that living on water alone can get a little boring from time to time, even when adding a few drops of fruit juice to give it a bit of flavor. She sometimes takes a sugar cube in her mouth and drinks water to disolve it, just as a way of spicing things up.

    After her health improved as a result of switching to a water diet, Ms. Ngog started her journey of trying to become a physician. She is currently a member of the Long An Acupuncture Association, is a Yoga teacher and is an advocate for yoga and exercise. She considers her dedication to promoting an active and healthy life a “payback” to the doctor who once saver her life.

    In the past, we’ve covered several people with such unusual diets – a man who claimed to live exclusively on tree leaves and grass, a breatharian who only survived on “energy”, and a man who lives on beer alone for Lent.

    Source: Oddity Central

  • Indian man has been keeping his right arm raised for over a decade

    An Indian ‘sadhu’ monk has been holding his arm in an upward position continuously for more than a decade in honor of his god.

    Mahant Radheypuri Juna Akhara, an Indian sadhu – a religious or holy person who has renounced their worldly life – from Allahabad has been keeping his right arm raised high above his head for more than 10 years in honor of a Hindu deity. He was recently featured in a viral Twitter video, telling the interviewer that he wanted to do something for his god, so that it notices him. So he raised his right arm up and never put it down again. Today, it’s sort of stuck in that position, and he claims he doesn’t even feel it anymore

    If Mahant’s sacrifice looks familiar, that’s probably because he was not the first to ever do it. Over a decade ago, we wrote about another sadhu, Amar Bharati, who at the time had been holding his right arm up for 38 years, becoming a symbol for Shiva worshipers all over India. He has now been keeping his arm raised for over half a century.

    Bharati’s feat makes that of Mahant Radheypuri Juna Akhara seem easy by comparison, but it turns out that the first couple of years are the most difficult. After that, the muscles in the arm become so atrophied that the whole appendage becomes numb and stuck in that abnormal position. Juna Akhara even pinches himself in the video to demonstrate that he doesn’t feel anything anymore.

    Asked how long he planned to keep his arm raised like that, Mahant, who even sleeps with his right arm in the unusual position, said that he hadn’t even thought about it. He prefers to live in the present, but he expects to keep it raised for the rest of his life.

    It’s unclear how long the sadhu has been keeping his arm up like this, he just says “over 10 years” in the video, but there are photos of him on the internet from 2018 with captions that claim he had been doing it for over a decade then. So it’s been at least 14 years.

    Source: Oddity Central

  • Expert suggests ways of balancing trade with security in West Africa

    Ziad Hamoui, a trade practitioner, advocate, and commentator, has highlighted the challenge of striking a balance between security and commercial facilitation.

    However, he has asked state authorities and stakeholders in West African countries’ trade sectors to step up initiatives like risk profiling and cross-national, cross-sector cooperation that will be able to appropriately remove trade barriers while assisting governments in maintaining good security.

    The National President of the business-led trade advocacy group Borderless Alliance, Ziad Hamoui, expressed his opinions on Eye on Port.

    He made these remarks while analysing the state of trade facilitation across the West African Borders, and identifying associated challenges.

    Mr. Hamoui chronicled the shutdown and reopening of borders where he maintained that the disuniform reopening of borders demonstrated by African countries has had a negative effect on cross-border trade.

    He said while many countries had for a long period opened their borders to commercial vehicles, travel restrictions for people have impeded the flow of cross-border trade.

    “For example, if you go to Cote D’Ivoire, the borders are closed. You can leave Elubo but you will get stuck at their side.”

    Mr. Hamoui stated that, “even if the corridors are open for the movement of commercial vehicles, there is still that difficulty in the movement of people and until we get to a time where we have the normalization of free movement of people, trade will be stagnant because trade moves where people move. This has created uncertainty within the business space, so people have been unable to adequately plan and anticipate.”

    These restrictions according to him, go beyond safety measures against the spread of COVID 19, but also a deliberate effort by nations in the wake of political unrests and widespread insecurities in certain areas of the continent.

    According to the National President of Borderless Alliance, if strategic collaborative approaches are not taken, trade facilitation will suffer at the expense of excessive nationalism.

    “At the end of the day, countries have to look at the risk element and enhance risk profiling and based on that, you address the core roots of the problem so we can reduce the risks,” he said.

    This approach, Mr. Hamoui said, is better than the outright, ad-hoc closure of borders, which do not serve Africa’s trade liberalization objectives.

    According to the trade advocate, aside the restrictions that have emerged out of nations’ desire to mitigate the wave of health and security threats, cross border trading in West Africa is becoming increasingly expensive, creating extra barriers to trade.

    “We know that some traders are compliant but some others are not. On the other hand, we know some agencies are not facilitating trade at the level they are supposed to even when traders are compliant. Sometimes money exchanges are made, and with these activities, economic losses are incurred,” he elaborated.

    The National President of Borderless Alliance did not fail to mention the numerous security checkpoints and barriers along the various West African corridors, where he recalled that the number of such along Ghana’s corridor was approximately 75, last time he checked.

    He acknowledged that while security reasons are reasonable, the numerous checkpoints open the corridor up to corruption and uncompetitiveness.

    He made a strong appeal to authorities to simplify and make affordable, trade processes in order to encourage increased trade activities, especially for the informal, small-scale trade sector, which represent the large chunk of businesses within the region.

    Ziad Hamoui, reiterated that for success to be seen in regional protocols and interventions intended to improve trade facilitation, political will is of utmost importance.

  • 20-year-old English man has been walking around barefoot for a year

    A 20-year-old man from Cambridge, England, has become famous both in his hometown and on social media, because of his decision to shun footwear completely.

    Up until a year or so ago, George Woodville wore shoes pretty much all the time, even indoors. But one day in October of last year, while on a walking holiday in Plymouth with his mother and grandfather, he began questioning the necessity of wearing footwear. He got to the hotel, started researching the ‘barefoot movement’, and decided he was done with shoes for good. More than one year later, not only is George sticking to his decision, but he has found a way to turn his dirty feet into an income generation machine.

    “I got back to the hotel, and I started looking up the benefits of going barefoot and found this amazing community. I decided at that moment that I wouldn’t ever wear shoes again,” George told Cambridge News. “My first experience was going to a restaurant with my mum and grandfather – and it felt really different. And then I walked on grass, and on any surface I could find to feel the difference. I spent 20 years wearing shoes, but it felt right.”

    As soon as he returned home from his vacation, the 20-year-old threw away all of his 20 pairs of shoes – including three pairs of trainers, two pairs of leather shoes, suede shoes and flip flops – and committed to going barefoot full-time. He hasn’t looked back since and claims that the change has made him more comfortable in his own skin and helped him express himself better.

    Still, the young English man admits that the complete lack of footwear doesn’t impress everyone. Some supermarket managers will ask him to leave if they spot him in their stores, and he has heard some people say that what he’s doing is disgusting, but he has never felt embarrassed about it.

    “Sometimes I’ll find glass stuck in my foot, but within a few days it usually just falls out,” George said. “I have stepped on dog poo before. If my feet get really dirty, I’ll ask someone to get me a bucket of water before I go inside, but I will try to find a puddle to clean my feet.”

    “In winter, it was a bit difficult at first because it was very cold and I had only started walking barefoot, and when it got cold and wet you really felt it. But as with anything, after a while you just become used to it,” the young man added.

    Apart from making him feel liberated and empowered, barefoot walking has also opened up an enrichment opportunity he would have never imagined. Ever since he started documenting his barefoot adventure on social media platforms like Tik Tok, George Woodville started getting requests for “barefoot pics” from his online fans. That’s when he decided to start an OnlyFans for his feet…

    “It’s pretty amazing to think that my feet could be what pays my bills. I hope I can become a millionaire and I would be surprised if I didn’t make that kind of money in the next five or so years,” George said.

    He has only made £100 ($110) in his first month on OnlyFans, but he is confident that it is only a matter of time until he makes it big on the platform.

    Source: Oddity Central

  • Family lives with corpse for over a year, thinking it’s only in a coma

    The family of a 35-year-old man who died in April of last year due to Covid-19 have been living with his body ever since, thinking he was only in a coma and would eventually wake up.

    Vimlesh Sonkar, a young Income Tax Officer in Ahmedabad was admitted to Moti hospital on 19th April 2021 and pronounced dead only three days later after becoming infected with the coronavirus. A death certificate was handed to the man’s family, but they refused to believe he had passed away and instead of giving him the last rights took his dead body home and cared for it as if he would eventually wake up. The man’s mummified remains were discovered a few days ago, when a team from his workplace was sent to investigate his long-term absence.

    “The person had died on April 22, 2021 during the second wave of Covid. He had bilateral pneumonia,” the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Kanpur, Alok Ranjan, told The Sunday Express. “After he died, he was taken to a local nursing home where he was declared dead. A death certificate was also issued where the cause of death was mentioned as ‘bilateral pneumonia’”.

    It’s unclear why Vimlesh’s family didn’t want to accept the fact that he had passed away. The Times of India reports that they took his body to another hospital for a second opinion, and even when doctors there confirmed his death, they still took his corpse back home and treated it like that of a coma patient that might wake up one day. According to the Free Press Journal, the family was ready to give the man his last rites, but first they put an oximeter on one of his fingers, and after it showed a pulse and the oxygen level in his blood, they decided he was still alive and canceled the funeral.

    One thing is for sure, though – Vimlesh Sonkar’s family lived with his dead body in the same house for a year and a half, genuinely thinking that he was in a coma and would one day wake up. His wife, his parents, his brothers and their families, all of whom lived in the same house, took care of him, cleaning his body with Dettol disinfectant three times a day, changing his clothes daily and leaving the air conditioning on for 24 hours a day.

    “Whenever his office asked the family about his whereabouts, they said Vimlesh was ill,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express. “The family also brought in oxygen cylinders and told locals that he was in a coma and was being treated at home. They were convinced that he was alive and will get better.”

    The shocking discovery of Vimlesh Sonkar’s body was made by a team sent by his office to check why he had been absent from work for so long. Despite the care provided by members of his family, the 35-year-old man’s body had deteriorated severely since his death, with one eye-witness describing it as a mummy with the flesh dried up on the bones. That didn’t seem to give the family any clues, though.

    Police was notified about the situation, and Vimlesh’s body was once again taken to a hospital where his death was once again confirmed. After this, his family finally agreed to have his body cremated.

    “As no crime was committed here, we will not be taking any action against anyone. The family was still convinced that he was alive till his body was taken away on Friday by officials,” CMO Alok Ranjan said. “On Friday night, the remains of the body were cremated in the presence of police, other officials and Vimlesh’s family. The family members had to be convinced for the cremation.”

    Source: Oddity Central

  • BizTech: How BOST achieved its positive operational turnaround

    Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Limited saw a rise in profit of GH161 million in the 2021 fiscal year after registering ten years of straight losses.

    This development is the result of a fundamental business strategy and a roughly 83 percent increase in sales revenue from gasoline and diesel.

    On GhanaWeb TV’s BizTech, BOST’s managing director, Edwin Provencal, said the state-owned company also implemented the efficient utilization of money from the nine pesewas BOST margin on petroleum goods.

    He explained that money from the petroleum charge was utilized, among other things, to decommission problematic tanks, refurbish four river barges for the transfer of gasoline, and carry out reconstruction and repair work on fuel depots.

    Mr. Provencal said careful examinations with management and staff of BOST have since culminated in positive results but stressed there is more to be done to improve the firm’s operations.

    “Despite these positives, we are still not there yet, but I am optimistic we are on the right path as there is more work needed to be done here at BOST toward the development of the petroleum downstream sector,” he told GhanaWeb’s Mawuli Ahorlumegah.

    He, therefore, stressed that state-owned enterprises in the country could become profitable and valuable with the right leadership, collaboration and effective direction.

  • ‘I have closed 80% of my businesses’ – FC Beauty Group CEO

    The CEO of the FC Beauty Group of Companies, Dr. Mrs. Grace Amey-Obeng, has bemoaned the severe damage the current financial crisis has done to her vast corporate empire.

    The founder and CEO of the leading beauty and cosmetics conglomerate in the country has admitted that she had to take extraordinary measures to stay afloat in the face of the present global economic issues, including closing a significant portion of her businesses and impacting many of her employees.

    Dr. Amey-Obeng revealed the information in Ho when she spoke at a memorial lecture to mark the tenth anniversary of President John Evans Atta Mills’ passing. The talk was place at the University of Health and Allied Sciences’ Cedi Auditorium (UHAS).

    “I have closed 80 per cent of my businesses, and I have laid off 70 per cent of staff. We are now working three days a week. The situation is too stressful.

    “We want our Ghana back. This is not the Ghana we want. We cannot be paying people for no work done,” she lamented.

    The Group CEO, who had worked with the late President on several women’s support initiatives, said he would be remembered for his support for the development of the gender, and which she noted was evident in several top women appointments he made while in office.

    She said the nation’s ability or inability to celebrate its heroes affected its advancement and urged all to emulate the all-loving nature of Prof. Mills.

    “In these times, the old President is like Christ,” Dr Amey-Obeng stated.

    The memorial lecture was organised by the JEA Mills Memorial Heritage, and was titled “The Man John Evans Atta Mills, Ten Years On.”

    It was attended by past and present political leaders, traditional leaders, students, and the public.

    Professor Fred Newton Binka, Foundation Vice Chancellor of UHAS advocated renaming the University after the late President.

    He said the unfading legacy of President Mills, who died in office in July 2012, should be cemented to guide the nation it’s to dreams of development and transformation, and that the University he passionately established would be best to honour him in the name.

    “The legacy of Professor Mills is so critical and important in today’s Ghana,” he said while eulogising the memory of the late President in layers of praise.

    Alex Segbefia, Chairman of the memorial heritage, said it was established as a “nonprofit, non-partisan, independent organisation” aimed at preserving and promoting the ideologies of Prof. Mills.

    “We work and incorporate the values and principles that President ills lived for,” he said.

    The event had poetry recitals and cultural displays, and a video documentary displaying his legacy was screened.

    A book named “Atta Mills Speaks”, which carries his speeches, including State of the Nation Addresses he delivered, was launched and auctioned at the event.

  • DVLA announces increment in service fees

    An increase in taxes and levies for services at their offices has been announced by the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

    The DVLA stated that the charge increase had received approval from Parliament and was “inputted” onto all DVLA payment mechanisms.

    It further stated that customers should be able to pay the new fees at licensing offices and private car test locations starting on Monday, October 3, 2022.

    Read full statement below:

  • Trevor Noah quits The Daily Show after seven years

    South African comedian Trevor Noah called the decision to hire him “crazy” but told his live studio audience his time on The Daily Show had been “one of the best experiences of my life.”

    Trevor Noah is quitting as the host of The Daily Show, saying his “time is up” after seven years on the late-night talk show.

    The South African comedian took over from fellow US comedian Jon Stewart in September 2015.

    Thanking his audiences in the studio, at home, and around the world, he labelled the decision to hire him for the Comedy Central show in the first place “crazy”.

    Noah joked: “I remember when we first started, so many people didn’t believe in us – it was a crazy bet to make. I still think it was a crazy choice. This random African, bringing a Chinese guy from Malaysia.”

    Malaysian comedian Ronny Chieng, the Daily Show’s senior correspondent who was with Noah on stage, chipped in: “Yeah, Chinese guys with accents on American TV”.

    Noah was virtually unknown in the US when he was picked to be host, despite being a celebrity in South Africa.

    Calling it “one of the best experiences of my life”, Noah said that it was after beginning to tour with his comedy again that he realised that he missed “being everywhere doing everything.”

    He told his live studio audience: “I realised after seven years, my time is up… but in the most beautiful way.

    “I’ve loved hosting the show, it’s been one of my greatest challenges, it’s been one of my greatest joys.

    “We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together… but after seven years I feel like it’s time you know?”

    His studio audience then gave him a standing ovation.

    Noah didn’t give any details about when exactly he would be leaving the role, or who would be taking over from him, just saying: “We’ll figure out the timings and the whens.”

    During his tenure on the political and news-based satire he made stylistic changes and increased millennial-based references, impersonations and characterizations for his comedy.

    Noah’s departure from The Daily Show follows that of James Corden, who announced in April he would be leaving The Late Late Show early next year. At the time, the show’s network, CBS, was said to be looking at cheaper alternatives to replace the British star.

    Source: Sky News

     

  • Emerging markets lead uptake of cryptocurrency despite bear market

    Emerging markets are embracing the technology quickly despite global financial challenges and huge drops in the value of cryptocurrencies this year.

    According to the Global Crypto Adoption Index released by US blockchain analysis company Chainanalysis, the first two quarters of this year saw a greater global adoption of cryptocurrencies than the same period in 2019 and 2020.

    The Chainanalysis index was dominated by emerging economies, with the top four adopters being Vietnam, the Philippines, Ukraine, and India. Pakistan came in sixth, Brazil came in seventh, and Thailand came in eighth.

    According to the research, demand has held steady in emerging areas despite a deterioration in public opinion toward cryptocurrencies in industrialized nations during the current bear market.

    Adoption drivers

    With rising US interest rates and inflation weakening many fiat currencies around the world, cryptocurrencies and the decentralised exchanges on which they are traded allow users in emerging markets to limit exposure to macroeconomic pressures and ease transaction flows.

    Long touted as a hedge against inflation, cryptocurrencies as an asset class have seen one of the largest declines since the second half of 2021 when inflation ramped up globally, prompting many banks and financial institutions to question this premise.

    The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the growth and adoption of new e-commerce solutions as many citizens sought innovative ways of gaining access to financial services.

    The number of unbanked citizens – those without access to checking or savings accounts, credit cards, loans, mortgages or other traditional financial products – fell from 1.7bn in 2017 to 1.4bn in 2021, according to the World Bank.

    In Morocco, Vietnam, Egypt and the Philippines, more than 65% of the population is unbanked, according to data from UK research platform Merchant Machine. Three of these countries were among the top-15 on the Chainanalysis index.

    Regionally, 50% of citizens in the Middle East and Africa are unbanked, while South and Central America average 38%, Eastern Europe 33% and Asia Pacific 24%. Meanwhile, 94% of citizens in Western and Central Europe are considered banked.

    Given these disparities in financial inclusion, it is unsurprising that citizens in emerging markets are driving the adoption of cryptocurrencies and decentralised exchanges – which Chainanalysis maintains is more important than the overall volume of holdings, trades or even price.

    Weighing risk and reward

    Last year, El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender; President Nayib Bukele pledged to build a ‘Bitcoin City’ as a tax haven for crypto investors, including an airport and residential and commercial areas.

    However, Bitcoin’s subsequent price crash – it fell from US$47,000 to less than US$20,000 in the 12 months after El Salvador adopted it as legal tender – has raised questions about these plans and El Salvador’s ability to cover US$1.6bn worth of sovereign bonds due in 2023 and 2025.

    Nonetheless, several African nations are continuing to encourage the use of cryptocurrencies to drive financial inclusion.

    The Central African Republic adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in April, and the continent’s four largest economies – Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa – also have the largest number of cryptocurrency holders in Africa.

    Zimbabwe, for its part, has installed a Bitcoin ATM managed by Golix, the country’s first and largest cryptocurrency exchange – and the only place in the country where citizens can buy or sell US dollars for Bitcoin.

    Citizens skirt government bans

    One major risk to the long-term viability of cryptocurrencies is the potential for governments to curtail trading because of their use for illicit payments.

    Last year, China instituted a ban on cryptocurrency mining and trading. Eight other countries, including Egypt and Morocco, have similar bans in place, while 42 countries have implicit bans on these activities.

    Even so, China was the 10th-largest adopter of crypto and Morocco the 14th, according to the Chainanalysis index. In the case of China, many citizens are skirting the ban and government, reportedly, is not enforcing it strictly.

    The country has however encouraged the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that leverage blockchain technologies, as long as they are traded on regulated exchanges.

    Most NFTs are bought and sold with cryptocurrencies, driving adoption in Central and South Asia as well as Oceania.

    NFT marketplaces were cited as a major reason for India’s big jump in the Chainanalysis rankings, including FanCraze – a platform that sells cricket NFTs and has financial backing from US venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.

    Blockchain-backed, play-to-earn (P2E) gaming is another major draw for new cryptocurrency adopters, most notably in top-ranked Vietnam.

    Despite the high-profile hacking and subsequent collapse earlier this year of the NFT online video game Axie Infinity, which was created by the Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis, many in South-east Asia are turning to new, locally developed P2E options.

    More sustainable mining

    Another fundamental concern about cryptocurrencies – the energy cost of mining – has become more acute in the light of recent energy shortages and supply chain disruptions due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

    The energy required to power the Bitcoin network varies according to volume of mining and transactions; but at the time of writing its annualised electricity consumption was estimated at 92.7 TWh according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, which is roughly equal to the annual electricity consumption of Pakistan.

    There are however developments underway to make cryptocurrency mining more sustainable by using renewable energy. These have coalesced this year around the so-called regenerative finance movement, an effort to merge the growth of Web3 technologies like blockchain with measures addressing the climate crisis.

    In September, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a report about the climate and energy implications of cryptocurrency in the US, which identifies Web3’s capacity to support technologies that monitor or mitigate climate impact.

    Cryptocurrency miners themselves are also innovating to reduce the environmental impact of their activities. For instance, while Norway is already able to mine cryptocurrency using renewable energy due to its surplus of hydropower generation, Norwegian company Kryptovault is recycling excess heat from Bitcoin mining rigs to dry chopped timber.

  • Akufo-Addo announces $40m World Bank facility to upgrade historical sites

    According to President Akufo-Addo, the tourism industry would be used by the government as a powerful vehicle for economic change to bring prosperity and jobs to Ghanaians.

    He claimed that in order to increase foreign visitor arrivals, the government is collaborating with them.
    This was said by President Akufo-Addo as he formally opened the Tema branch of the Alisa Hotel.

    The President said that the government would soon open a $10 million hospitality institute in Accra to educate Ghanaians in support of the expansion of the travel and tourism industry.

    According to President Akufo-Addo, the Ghana Tourism Development Project will also include a 40 million dollar World Bank facility for the improvement of all historical sites.

    The imposing edifice has 52 guestrooms including four contemporary suites to ensure a higher level of comfort for guests.

    It has an all-day Atlantic restaurant and Sky Bar.

    Chief Executive of Bamson Group, Kwame Ofosu Bamfo, called for more support in the Tourism sector to boost employment Creation.

    Deputy Minister for Tourism, Art and Culture, Mark Okraku Mantey, said 20,000 people are being trained by the Ministry to help grow the sector.

    President Akufo-Addo, commended Kwame Ofosu Bamfo for his foresight, saying such initiatives will compliment government’s soon to establish Hospitality School in Accra.

    The Alisa Group currently has a 500 workforce providing quality service to patrons.

  • Man has been peeing “almost daily” on grave of ex-wife he divorced 48 years ago

    A New Jersey man has apparently been holding such a grudge against the ex-wife he divorced nearly five decades ago that he goes to her grave almost every day just to relieve himself on her grave.

    This shocking story was recently made public by 43-year-old Michael Murphy who used hidden cameras to catch the culprit in the act after finding traces of urine and plastic bags with feces whenever he visited his mother’s resting place at the cemetery at Tappan Reformed Church in Orangetown, New York. The captured footage revealed an elderly man visiting the grave almost every day, at around 6:00 in the morning, and casually relieving himself on the woman’s headstone. He was later identified as her ex-husband, whom she had divorced 48 years ago and whom she had not been in contact with since 1976.

    “THIS IS BREAKING MY HEART,” Michael wrote on his Facebook page a few days ago. “A man from Bergen county New Jersey has been leaving bags of poo and p*****g on my mother’s tombstone almost every morning like a ‘normal routine’ assisted by his wife also. We have weeks and months of evidence. It has been reported to the police and the news outlets. No one in my family has had contact with him since 1976 or so.”

    Michael’s mother, Linda Louise Torello, was married for a brief period of time to the man captured on video but had a falling out when she became pregnant and the man did not want responsibility for the child. He has apparently been holding a grudge ever since…

    “How he found my mother’s grave site we are not sure. But this stems back to a problem almost 50 years ago. Pray for us thank you and please share this!!!” Linda’s son wrote in his Facebook post.

    Michael and his sister asked permission from the cemetery administration to install the hidden cameras, hoping to catch the culprit in the act, after discovering traces of urine and bags of feces at their mother’s grave almost daily. The captured footage also revealed that the man was almost always accompanied by his current wife, which only makes the deed more insidious.

    After police said that they couldn’t take any actions against the man reliving himself on a dead woman’s grave on a daily basis, Michael Murphy told reporters that he hoped to file a complaint against the guy for cemetery desecration.

    Source: Oddity Central

  • Scooter Braun has ‘regret’ over Taylor Swift catalog controversy, says he ‘learned an important lesson’

    In an extensive interview with with NPR, music executive Scooter Braun said he isn’t satisfied with how the Taylor Swift catalog acquisition went down.

    “I learned an important lesson from [the Big Machine acquisition]. When I did that deal, I was under a very strict NDA with the gentleman who owned it, and I couldn’t tell any artist,” Braun told Jay Williams, whom he identified as “my friend since we were teenagers hooping” on social media. “I wasn’t allowed to. I wasn’t legally allowed to. … So the regret I have there is that I made the assumption that everyone, once the deal was done, was going to have a conversation with me, see my intent, see my character and say, ‘Great, let’s be in business together.’ And I made that assumption with people that I didn’t know.”

    When Braun purchased the Big Machine catalog from Scott Borchetta in 2019, Swift’s first six studio albums were included as part of the acquisition. Swift was vocally critical of the decision, and said when she attempted to enter negotiations with Braun that his team asked her to sign “an ironclad NDA stating I would never say another word about Scooter Braun unless it was positive.”

    The 41-year-old said he was “excited to work with every artist on the label,” but when they finalized the deal “all hell broke loose.”

    “I think a lot of things got lost in translation. I think that when you have a conflict with someone, it’s very hard to resolve it if you’re not willing to have a conversation,” he added, as transcribed by Variety.

    In response to the acquisition, Swift ultimately decided to re-record her albums that were released by Big Machine. She’s since released remade versions of 2012’s Red and 2008’s Fearless. She’s also released a number of new versions of tracks from 1989, although she hasn’t announced a release date for the full thing project.

    “I can’t put myself in a place of, you know, arrogance to think that someone would just be willing to have a conversation and be excited to work with me,” Braun continued. “I don’t know these people. So when I did the deal with HYBE, I took 50 million of my own stock that I received, and I gave it to my employees and my artists. And it—I didn’t think it was going to become public, but it was a publicly traded company, so I can talk about it now ’cause it was very much out there. And I made sure that everyone participated significantly.”

    The situation with Swift inspired Scooter Braun to get his artists more involved directly, as he felt the whole way it went down was “unfair” from his perspective, but unfair from the other side, too. “I choose to look at it as a learning lesson, a growing lesson, and I wish everyone involved well,” he said. “And I’m rooting for everyone to win because I don’t believe in rooting for people to lose.”

    Source: Complex.com

  • Lil Zay Osama arrested after allegedly leaving machine gun in Uber car

    Lil Zay Osama is behind bars.

    According to legal documents obtained by Complex, the 25-year-old rapper was arrested this week after he allegedly left a machine gun in an Uber car. Prosecutors say Osama and his associates took the ride Thursday in NYC, going from a hotel in Manhattan to a recording studio in Queens. The rideshare driver reportedly observed Osama holding a firearm throughout the trip, and noticed the weapon was still in the car after the passengers exited.

    The gun was immediately reported to authorities, and identified as a loaded Glock 22.40 caliber pistol equipped with a “switch” device. The NYPD field-tested the weapon alongside the Joint Firearms Task Force of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

    The teams concluded the gun could “automatically fire more than one round with a single function of the trigger and, therefore, was a machine gun.”

    Prosecutors pointed out that Osama had mentioned a Glock and “switch” device in his 2021 track “Danny Block”:

    I hope this song right here don’t get in the hands of the feds
    Ayy, I just got a brand new Glock
    With a fifty and a switch (With a fifty and a switch)
    I just popped one of my opps
    I’m finna go do another hit

    Osama was arrested Friday and charged with possession of a machine gun and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors say Osama was previously convicted of weapons possession in Illinois, and has two outstanding warrants for his arrest. He is now being held without bail and faces up to two decades in prison.

    Source: Complex.com

  • ECOWAS condemns Burkina Faso coup, demands respect for 2024 transition deal

    The West African regional bloc, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has condemned the September 30, 2022 coup that took place in Burkina Faso, where a new military junta overthrew another.

    What started out as an exchange of heavy gunfire on Friday morning was confirmed late in the evening with a broadcast on National TV announcing the takeover.

    In a statement issues from the ECOWAS Commission hours after the announcement, the bloc said it firmly condemned the incident at a time the Sandaogo Damiba-led junta was making progress on an orderly return to constitutional order by July 1, 2024.

    The junta said a new leader – civilian or military will be be announced in due course, but before that some measures put in place include dissolution of the government, the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT), and the Transition Charter as well as the closure of borders.

    COMMUNIQUE OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION ON THE SOCIO-POLITICAL SITUATION IN BURKINA FASO

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemns in the strongest terms the seizure of power by force which took place Friday, September 30, 2022 in Burkina Faso.

    ECOWAS finds this new coup inopportune at a time when progress has been made, thanks to diplomacy and the efforts of ECOWAS for a methodical return to constitutional order no later than July 1, 2024.

    ECOWAS reaffirms its unreserved opposition to any taking or maintaining of the
    power by unconstitutional means and demands scrupulous respect for the timeline already agreed with the Transitional Authorities for a swift return to constitutional order no later than July 1, 2024.

    ECOWAS warns any institution, force or group of people who by acts would prevent the programmed return to constitutional order or would contribute to the weakening of peace and stability in Burkina Faso and the Region.

    The ECOWAS Commission remains seized of the development of the situation.

    Done in Abuja on September 30, 2022.

    The President of the Commission

    How the coup was announced:

    A coup d’etat was announced by one Captain Ibrahim Traore on state TV flanked by fully armed and masked soldiers.

    It came barely 10 months after the last one that removed democratically elected Christian Roch Marc Kabore from power. The Traore-led junta thus deposed Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba from power.

    Reports of heavy artillery gunfire in the wee hours of Friday morning and heavy military presence in parts of the capital Ouagadougou raised fears of a takeover.

    But the Presidency in a statement on Facebook said negotiations were ongoing and that an enemy was seeking to sow division between the people.

    The state broadcaster went off for hours and returned to normal programming. But this evening, a group of armed soldiers appeared on the state TV to announce a takeover according to multiple reports.

    The new junta announced that they have deposed Damiba as leader of the same coup vehicle that came into power in January, hence they are only taking over the leadership of the MPSR.

    They cited the continued degradation of the security situation in the West African country as basis for their action.

    They have also promised an immediate reorganization of the military with the view to halt the terrorist attacks and to restore durable security across the country.

    On May 24, 2021, Mali’s President, Bah N’daw, Prime Minister, Moctar Ouane and Minister of Defence, Souleymane Doucoure were captured by the Malian Army led by Vice President, Assimi Goita as the head of the junta.

    They subsequently announced that N’daw and Ouane were stripped of their powers pending new general elections to be held in 2022.

    This was the second time Goita had grabbed power, he emerged as the coup leader when late President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was removed in 2020 on the back of mass protests arising largely from insecurity.

    Guinea experienced a coup, on September 5, 2021, when its President, Alpha Condé, was captured by the country’s armed forces after gunfire in the capital, Conakry.

    Special forces commander Mamady Doumbouya released a broadcast on state television announcing the dissolution of the constitution and government.

    Burkina Faso recorded a coup on Monday, January 24, 2022. The country’s Army, led by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba confirmed that it had dissolved the government and the national assembly, as well as closed the borders.

    Damiba will go on to announce a reconciliation body and meet with other stakeholders including regional leaders with the view of transitioning to democratic rule in the shortest possible time.

    As recently as a week ago, he defended the January coup describing it as necessary and calling for concerted effort to combat terrorism in the region when he spoke at the 77th United Nations General Assembly.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Ghana is for all of us; not for Akufo-Addo, his family and cronies – Amoako Baah

    Former lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr. Richard Amoako Baah, has urged Ghanaians to keep pressing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for accountability despite his resistance to do so.

    He is especially worried about Ghana’s current economic crisis, which he claims has the potential to cause the system as a whole to crash.

    Despite the difficulties, he is concerned that the president is not taking advice and is being permitted to rule the country whatever he pleases.
    He asserts that the current situation must alter.

    “You advise him, he doesn’t take it. There is nothing left for you to do but to be quiet and watch him.

    “It is our country; it belongs to all of us and it is about time we stand up and stop behaving as if the country belongs to the President and his friends and family and cronies and we are just guest workers in it.

    “We are not. If we don’t speak up now. There will be nothing left, pretty much right now, nothing left,” he said in an interview on Joy FM, September 29.

    Amoako Baah despite being a member of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, has been very critical of the president and his government especially with their handling of the economy.

    Rising cost of living, galloping inflation and a depreciating Ghana Cedi are some of the main pointers to the economic crisis that Ghanaians are putting up with.

    The government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for a reported US$3 billion rescue facility to help stabilize the economy and reset it on the path of growth.

    Government has partly blamed the Russia-Ukraine war and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the headwinds, insisting that all was being done to stem the tide.

  • Gang that booed Akufo-Addo comprised 75 Fadama boys – Hopeson Adorye alleges

    Hopeson Adorye, an unsuccessful New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate for the Kpone Katamanso parliamentary seat, has claimed that the booers of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the September 24 Global Citizen Festival were hired thugs from the Accra neighborhood of Fadama.

    He added that certain well-known members of the opposition National Democratic Congress gave each of them GH 120. (NDC).

    Adorye said that the NDC gathered 75 Fadama boys to stage the incident through the former CEO of the 3 Music Awards, Baba Sadiq, The Herald newspaper publisher Larry Dogbe, and one Suhuyini in an interview with Accra-based Okay FM on September 28.

    He opined that the booing was orchestrated by the NDC as a result of the one-sided video from the incident even though ‘all the bloggers in Ghana were present and streamed live’.

    Baba Sadiq, he alleged was the mastermind having picked up information from organizers of the event that the president was going to be present.

    “Per the information I had, it was the Trade or the Tourism Minister who was supposed to be at the festival to address the attendees. But the fact that the president attended one in South Africa and requested that if it comes to Ghana, he will be happy. It was going to Nigeria.

    “One of the two ministers was supposed to come because of President Akufo-Addo’s UN engagement. But fortunately, the president was able to arrive before the day of the event.

    “They had conversations with him and it was agreed that he will come. Because Sadiq of 3 Music Awards is an industry player and has a connection with the lead organizers, when he heard it, he and Larry Dogbe and Suhuyini met at a particular place to plan.

    “They contracted 75 boys from Fadama and paid each one of them GH₵120. The videos trending is testament to it. It was from one particular shot,” Hopeson Adorye said.

    President Akufo-Addo was among high-profile dignitaries who graced the Global Citizen Festival which took place at the Black Star Square in Accra on September 24.

    When it was his turn to deliver a short presentation, a section of the crowd began to chant and clap ‘away, away….’.

    The president remained calm and delivered his speech. Deputy Communications Officer of the New Patriotic Party Ernest Owusu Bempah has in a statement accused the opposition National Democratic Congress as orchestrating the plot to embarrass the president.

    However, the NDC has rejected the accusation insisting that the booing was only an indication of the frustrations of Ghanaians.

     

  • Haruna Iddrisu was one of my key campaign managers – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

    Osei Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu, the majority leader and minister for parliamentary affairs in Ghana, has disclosed that the minority leader in parliament, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, vigorously supported his election to the position of vice chair of the Commonwealth Parliament Association.

    He said that Haruna Iddrisu, who serves as the minority leader in the legislature, was crucial to his victory.

    “Well, that was a pleasant surprise, and I was thrilled to be acknowledged.
    The good news is that this whole event started when the African Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association met in Nairobi. As the saying goes, a prophet is not recognized in his own backyard.

    “I was nominated by the Speaker of Kenya, the Rt. Hon. Justin Muturi, and supported effectively by other speakers in the African Region, including, in particular, South Africa, Malawi, and Sierra Leone.

    So for a year, I was made the acting Vice Chair of the CPA when, unfortunately, the Chairperson transitioned and the Vice Chair then assumed the position of acting Chairperson, and then we needed an acting Vice Chair, and that is how I got elected as the acting Vice Chair.

    At the time, I must say, rather importantly and significantly, the minority leader, the Hon. Haruna Iddrisu was one of my key campaign managers, so he rooted for me and I got elected.

    His comment comes after his election as Vice Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). at the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in August 2022.

    Speaking on the vice chairmanship position, he said it came to him as a shock, though with some euphoria. He expressed that he was grateful to God and his colleagues at the CPA for the election because he believed his contributions and interventions to help improve governance at the international level had been recognised.

    “In Canada, I then got elected as a substantive Vice Chair. So that’s how it happened. Again, nominated this time by the Speaker of Malawi and seconded by the Speaker of Sierra Leone, Dr Abass Bundu, and the rest of them bought into it.

    “Somebody had tried to contest me from the Caribbean region, but I think that given the ovation that was given to me when my name was mentioned, he dropped out and so I’m thankful to God for the election and I think that my colleagues in the CPA recognised the little contribution that I’ve been making to improve governance at the international level.”

    The MP for Suame revealed this on GTV’s Breakfast Show in an exclusive interview with Thelma Tackie on Thursday 28th September 2022.

    Expressing his view about the future of the CPA and the demise of the Queen, the Minister stated that the Queen was a paradox.

    In his explanation, he said: “Not too long after the queen has assumed the mantle as the head of the commonwealth, the queen of the UK, including the associated countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the rest, they still recognised the queen as head of state.

    “But we should be mindful of the fact that it was during her tenure that many of the commonwealth countries, at the time colonies, gained their independence. But through her astuteness, she was still able to wield and weld us together under the umbrella of the commonwealth of nations.

    “Today, it’s significant to observe that there are some francophone countries that are banging on the doors of the commonwealth to be given the opportunity to join. When we went to Canada, it may surprise you that Togo was there.

    “They have applied to be full members of the Commonwealth of Nations and were admitted. Gabon was there. But before then, it had been Rwanda and Mozambique. Next year, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference will be held in Ghana in September, and I’m reliably informed that there are two other West African countries, francophone countries, who intend to join the fraternity of the Commonwealth Arbitrary Association. I think it offers some security. In terms of expanding the frontiers of democratic governance the commonwealth is second to none.”

    The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is an organisation that works to support good governance, democracy, and human rights.

    It currently has about 180 branches in nine administrative regions: Africa, Asia, Australia, British islands and Mediterranean ,Canada, Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic, India ,pacific, and South East Asia.

    The headquarters secretariat is based in London.

  • Cedi appreciation: ‘Ofori-Atta must be dreaming’ – Prof. Hanke

    Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, according to Johns Hopkins University professor of applied economics Steve Hanke, has lost touch with reality on the performance of the Cedi.

    On September 29, he said in a tweet that Ofori-Atta was “dreaming” to believe that the Bank of Ghana’s efforts to ensure the Cedi regains its value were “paying off.”

    The Bank of Ghana’s attempts to control cedi depreciation, according to Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s finance minister, are “paying off.”
    Ofori-Atta must be dreaming, spoiler alert.
    “The cedi has lost over 40% of its value against the USD since January 2020,” Prof. Hanke tweeted.

    The economist who runs a project called ‘Troubled Currencies’ has consistently written off the local currency as the ‘central bank junk currency’ insisting that the only way to curb it depreciation was the installation of a currency board.

    The Cedi has in recent times been experiencing a free fall against major trading currencies such as the US dollar.

    At a point, some forex bureaus sold a dollar at GH¢10. The Bank of Ghana through its frequent hiking of the monetary policy rate has been trying to curb the situation.

    The Finance Minister at a briefing on September 28 outlined other measures such as a Special Foreign exchange auction for bulk distribution companies and a Gold Purchase Programme which the central bank was implementing to stabilize the fall of the Cedi.

    “As part of measures to shore up our reserves, improve exchange rate stability and address some of the funding needs, the Ministry successfully worked on a US$750 million Afreximbank loan facility which was received in August 2022,” he explained.

    “The traditional Cocoa Syndication Loan, expected in the last quarter of 2022 which will promote the cocoa sector, will further help us build our FX reserves and provide a strong buffer for the cedi in the last quarter of the year,” Ken Ofori-Atta added.

    As at July this year, for instance, the cedi lost its value by more than 20 percent to the US dollar.

    In addition, recent economic downgrades by international rating agencies such as Fitch and Standards & Poors’ has also impacted the investor community at large, while Ghana awaits an International Monetary Fund, IMF, support programme which is expected to be accessible in 2023.

  • Why Ghana makes huge revenue windfall from global crude price hikes – John Jinapor explains

    The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee, John Jinapor, has ‘shot down’ government’s claims that the Russia-Ukraine war is the cause of Ghana’s economic difficulties.

    According to him, “the evidence as contained in the 2022 semi-annual report on Petroleum receipts has revealed that Ghana is making huge windfalls from the sale of crude oil, royalties, tax payments and surface rentals from the three oil producing fields bequeathed to the current NPP Government”.

    John Jinapor who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu constituency in a statement further indicated that “Ghana is indeed blessed with abundant natural resources generating significant revenues to the national purse, the hard truth is that the current economic hardships can only be the result of bad leadership and poor decision making by the current managers of the economy”.

    Ghana Makes Huge Revenue Windfall From Global Crude Price Hikes!

    Contrary to the narrative by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-led government that the Russia/Ukraine war is impacting negatively on revenue mobilisation on all fronts, the evidence as contained in the 2022 semi-annual report on Petroleum receipts has revealed that Ghana is making huge windfalls from the sale of crude oil, royalties, tax payments and surface rentals from the three oil producing fields bequeathed to the current NPP Government.

    Section 4.1 (page 31) of the PIAC report confirms that an amount of $731.94 million was realised from Ghana’s oil resources in the first half of 2022. This amount is equivalent to about GH¢6.7billion (using an exchange rate of $1 to GH¢9.2) which has already surpassed the total annual projected Petroleum revenues estimated at GH¢6,628 million under paragraph 253 of the 2022 Annual Budget statement presented to Parliament in November 2021.

    From this development, it is obvious that Ghana is on course to achieving a quadruple or more of the original projected revenues from the Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa Gye-Nyame fields for the 2022 fiscal year.

    In addition, other revenue handles have witnessed significant positive out-turns over and above their projected targets.

    For instance, the 2022 Fiscal data report from the Ministry of Finance reveals that the Price Stabilisation & Recovery Levy alone has so far accrued GH¢798,021,065 as compared to a projected figure of GH¢269,348,015, which is almost 300% more than the revenue target for the first two quarters of the year, 2022.

    We therefore wish to reiterate our position that some portions from these extraordinary windfalls can be used to cushion the ordinary consumer in terms of soft subsidies at the pumps.

    It is important to remind the Economic Management Team (EMT) under Dr. Bawumia that a litre of diesel currently sells at the pumps at a whopping GH¢65.25 leading to severe hardships and suffering accros the country.

    Ghana is indeed blessed with abundant natural resources generating significant revenues to the national purse, the hard truth is that the current economic hardships can only be the result of bad leadership and poor decision making by the current managers of the economy.

    Signed:
    Hon John Abdulai Jinapor
    (Ranking Member, Mines and Energy Committee)

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • A well-deserved honour for an outstanding statesman – Bawumia eulogises Addo Kufuor as new Chancellor of KTU

    The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has described as “well-deserved”, the choice of former Minister of Defence, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor as the new Chancellor of the Kumasi Technical University,

    Speaking at the investiture of the new Chancellor, the Vice President said Dr. Addo Kufuor’s service to the country in various roles over the years, makes him an “excellent choice” for the honour bestowed on him.

    ^It is a well-deserved honour, Dr Bawumia said, adding, “as all that you (Dr. Addo Kufuor) have done for mother Ghana in the capacity as the former Board Chairman of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), President of the Ghana Medical Association, Member of Parliament of Manhyia Constituency, Minister of Defence and Acting Minister of Interior establishes that it is entirely appropriate that you have been appointed as the Chancellor of the University.”

    “I commend the authorities of this University, for the excellent choice of a distinguished person, one who is also happily a firm believer of academic freedom, and I am hopeful that the University will definitely fill the added benefit of your rich experiences.

    “Nonetheless, I believe the University could not have picked a worthier leader than you. Your worth of experience, as a Board Chairman of Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organisation (SMIDO) indicates your in-depth knowledge and already established interest in Technical and Vocational Education.

    The Vice President, who could not hide his admiration for Dr. Addo Kufuor, showered more commendations on the respected statesman, and spoke of how he inspires many.

    “For me, today is a little emotional, because I personally know Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor,” Dr. Bawumia said.

    “We all know him as a brilliant mind, high academic achiever, high professional achiever, a statesman, a family man, a God-fearing man. But for me there is one thing that crowns all of these defining characteristics of this eminent personality. Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor is a man of integrity, and therefore is a mentor for all of us in public service. And so for Kumasi Technical University to choose him as your Chancellor, you have virtually won the lottery. You can be assured of stellar leadership.”

    While assuring the new Chancellor and the University of Government’s support, he urged him and the University to help in making technical and vocational education, which the Government has prioritised, better.

    “I urge you Dr. Chancellor and all the heads of our tertiary institutions to continue to make adequate preparations towards the extensive call for prioritizing Technical Education in Ghana and beyond. The Free Senior High School and Free TVET Policies have become permanent features of our educational architecture and their foundations shall be embedded in other reforms in the TVET Education.

    “I assure you of the government’s steadfast commitment and continuous support to the Kumasi Technical University and indeed to all other TVET institutions in the country.”

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Dog owners, breeders to raise 5k doses of anti-rabies vaccine for free vaccination in Ashanti Region

    Some dog lovers and breeders are mobilising 5,000 doses of vaccines to provide free vaccinations for cats and dogs in rabies-infected areas of the Ashanti region.

    At least eight people have died from rabies in just the first half of the year; outbreaks have been reported in Bosomtwe, Kwabre East, and Asante Akim South, among other places.

    The pet breeders say they are concerned about the State’s inaction over the immunization of the animals.

    Health authorities are worried over the increasing number of rabies-related deaths among dog owners in the Ashanti region.

    Regional Health Director, Dr. Emmanuel Kojo Tinkorang, who is also worried about the high fatality rate of victims of rabies attacks, has recommended a mass vaccination exercise.

    “We’ve written to the Veterinary Services Division so that at least, all the dogs would be vaccinated. Other than that, the health system would see some of these cases very late. Rabies is such that when you get it, the fatality is very high so you don’t have to wait till it’s too late.”

    But the Veterinary Service says it lacks funding for mass vaccination.

    The majority of the pet owners cannot also afford the cost of vaccination.

    Regional Veterinary Officer, Dr. Mabel Abudu, encourages pet owners to take their pets to district veterinary offices to be vaccinated but at a fee.

    “ Mass rabies vaccination; some years back we used to do that. When I came into the system, it was done year after year. Not only rabies. But along the line, things have really gone done. It is not our fault anyway but it has to also do with funds

    In the midst of this hopelessness for some pet lovers, a group of dog breeders are raising 5,000 vaccines.

    They include Adamfopa Petcare, Happy Home, Mainstream Animal Hospital and Shihtzu Club of Ghana.

    “ We think that dog life matter and animal lives matter. And we believe that in 2022, human beings and pets should not lose their lives because of a lack of a vaccine,” Emmanuel Asare, Chief Associate at Adanfopa Petcare in Tema Community 2 and leader of the campaign said.

    “ Our goal is to try and mobilize about 5,000 vaccines so that we can give to rural Ghana.” Mr. Asare added.

    Mr. Asare, who doubles as President of the Shihtzu Club of Ghana, wants all dog lovers to come onboard the vaccination exercise.

    Source: Myjoyonline

  • No SIM card will be blocked – Sam George assures

    The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has assured Ghanaians who have not been able to re-register their SIM cards that their cards will not be blocked after the Friday deadline.

    The Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, announced that the deadline for the SIM card re-registration is Friday, September 30, 2022.

    The September 30 deadline is an extension of the initial deadline which was scheduled for July 31, 2022.

    The minister said that the extension had become necessary owing to challenges such as delays in the rollout of a self-serving registration app and delays in the acquisition of Ghana Cards, which is the mandatory document for the registration.

    “Upon consultation with the industry and in view of the challenges enumerated above, I have very reluctantly decided to grant a final conditional extension.

    “The programme will be extended to September 30 to end on the anniversary of its commencement. That will give us one full year of SIM registration to be reviewed at the end of this month and any SIM that has not been fully registered by the end of August will be barred from fully receiving certain services including voice and data services. It will also be more expensive to use unregistered SIMs. The full range of punitive measures will be announced at another press briefing in September,” the minister stated.

    The National Communication Authority, who affirmed the September 30 deadline for the exercise, announced that all SIM cards which have not been registered after the deadline will be totally blocked.

    But, in a tweet shared on September 30, Sam Nartey George said that he is certain that no unregistered SIM card will be blocked after Friday.

    “I am 100% confident that ABSOLUTELY NO SIM card would be blocked tomorrow!

    “This is a victory for the Ghanaian people who are waiting on the NIA to produce their Ghana Cards for them. For God and Country,” parts of the tweet the MP shared read.

     

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • King Charles and late Queen will both feature on new 50p coins

    The first portrait of King Charles III to appear on currency was unveiled on Friday as the Royal Mint marks the end of one era and the start of another with its first “double monarch” coin.

    The new King’s image, designed to look “more human” than previous official portraits of sovereigns, will appear on commemorative £5 coins and 50p coins in circulation before the end of the year.

    They will be joined in the same coin by pictures of the late Queen Elizabeth II in a gentle transition for the public into a new reign.

    The King’s effigy has been created by sculptor Martin Jennings, and has been personally approved by him, the Mint said.

    The final image was presented to him for approval following the death of his mother and was created from photographs rather than a live sitting.

    In keeping with tradition, the King’s portrait faces to the left, the opposite direction to Queen Elizabeth II.

    Chris Barker, historian at the Royal Mint Museum, said it was a “very classic coinage portrait”, reminiscent of George V and George VI.

    The sculptor, he said, has “managed to achieve a very good likeness”, adding: “It’s very warm with a good sense of humanity – probably more human and less idealised than some of the portraits we’ve seen before.

    “It’s both accessible and dignified, reflecting his years of service.

    “The King has followed that general tradition that we have in British coinage, going all the way back to Charles II actually, that the monarch faces in the opposite direction to their predecessor.”

    King Charles and late Queen will both feature on new 50p coins
    The King’s effigy for the new coin was created by sculptor Martin Jennings and personally approved by the monarch – PA
    King Charles and late Queen will both feature on new 50p coins
    In keeping with tradition, the King’s portrait faces to the left, the opposite direction to Queen Elizabeth II

    The public will start to see the King’s image in their change from December, as 50p coins depicting the King gradually enter circulation to meet demand.

    In the meantime, the Mint will release a memorial coin range on Monday October 3 at 9am to commemorate the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II.

    The King’s portrait will first appear on a special £5 Crown and 50p commemorating the Queen.

    The Latin inscription surrounding the effigy reads: “• CHARLES III • D • G • REX • F • D • 5 POUNDS • 2022” which translates to: “King Charles III, by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith”.

    The reverse of the commemorative £5 coin features two new portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, one in her younger years and the other “more mature”.

    The design was created by artist John Bergdahl in collaboration with the Royal Mint, intended to reflect her long life of service.

    It will form part of a wider memorial coin collection.

    The reverse of the 50p features a design that originally appeared on the 1953 Coronation Crown.

    It includes the four quarters of the Royal Arms depicted within a shield, separated by the emblems of the home nations; a rose, a thistle, a shamrock and a leek.

    Based in Llantrisant, South Wales, the Royal Mint has depicted the Royal family on coins for over 1,100 years, documenting each monarch since Alfred the Great.

    King Charles and late Queen will both feature on new 50p coins
    The commemorative £5 coin features two new portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, one in her younger years and the other ‘more mature’ – PA
    King Charles and late Queen will both feature on new 50p coins
    The reverse of the 50p includes the four quarters of the Royal Arms depicted within a shield, separated by the emblems of the home nations; a rose, a thistle, a shamrock and a leek – PA

    Mr Jennings said: “It is a privilege to sculpt the first official effigy of His Majesty and to receive his personal approval for the design.

    “It is the smallest work I have created, but it is humbling to know it will be seen and held by people around the world for centuries to come.”

    There are around 27 billion coins currently circulating in the UK bearing the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. They will remain legal tender.

    From January 1, all new coins will feature the King instead.

    Dr Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said: “Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has graced more coins than any other British monarch in a reign that lasted for 70 years.

    “As we move from the Elizabethan to the Carolean era it represents the biggest change to Britain’s coinage in decades and the first time that many people will have seen a different effigy.

    “Over the coming years it will become common for people to find coins bearing His Majesty and Queen Elizabeth II’s effigy in their change, engaging new generations in the story of Britain’s Royal family.”

     

  • Halt operations in Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve – Lands Ministry tells Chairman Wontumi’s mining company

    The Lands Ministry has directed mining firm, Akonta Mining Limited to stop operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest.

    In a statement issued on September 30, the Ministry said it has taken note of “publications about certain operations by Akonta Mining Limited in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Amenfi West Municipality in the Western Region”.

    According to the Ministry, even though Akonta Mining Limited has a mining lease to undertake mining operations in some parts of Samreboi, outside the Forest Reserve, “the company has no mineral right to undertake any mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve”.

    The statement said the sector minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has therefore directed the Forestry Ministry to, “forthwith, ensure that the company does not carry out any operation in the Forest and to take the necessary action against any person found culpable in this matter”.

    Halt operations in Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve - Lands Ministry tells Chairman 'Wontumi''s mining company

    “Our records show that Akonta Mining Ltd, on August 25, 2022, applied for a Mining Lease to undertake mining operations in the said Forest Reserve. By a Ministerial Directive, all reconnaissance, prospecting and/or exploratory activities in Forest Reserves in the country are suspended, except in exceptional circumstances.

    “Although this directive does not affect mining in Forest Reserves, Akonta Mining Limited’s application has not been determined. Accordingly, any alleged activity being undertaken by the company in the Forest Reserve is illegal”, the statement further disclosed.

    Halt operations in Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve - Lands Ministry tells Chairman 'Wontumi''s mining company

    In conclusion, the Ministry pledged its commitment to dealing with the menace of illegal mining in Ghana, popularly known as ‘galamsey’.

    Meanwhile, the conversation about illegal mining continues to gain prominence from the recent arrest and ongoing trial of galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang.

    The Chinese lady was arrested on September 5, and is currently facing trial for mining minerals without a license among other charges.

    Source: Myjoyonline.com

     

  • Government reviews security strategy to fight galamsey

    The continuous spate of illegal mining in Ghana has necessitated a review of the government’s security strategies in combating the menace.

    Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah who disclosed this stated that the revision, when implemented, will help the government institute strict and robust anti-galamsey policies to weed out illegal mining.

    Speaking at the West Africa Mining Security (WAMS) Conference in

    Accra on Wednesday, Mr Kan-Dapaah intimated that foreign nationals involved in the ongoing canker could truncate the current state of the country’s security system and forest reserves.

    “The strategy is under review because we need to find a more effective way of stopping the degradation.”

    Government in its quest to eradicate illegal mining, set up a military task force in 2017 and ordered a 20-month ban on all small mining.

    The taskforce was given the authority to confiscate equipment belonging to illegal mining operators and shut down mines without official paperwork.

    Recently, the taskforce arrested 164 suspected illegal miners, impounded 300 Changfans and 12 excavators used in illegal mining at Ayinam and Mampong, in the Eastern Region.

    In spite of the various measures instituted to curtail the canker, little progress has been made so far as the activities are still in full force.

    This led to a series of calls from various environmental bodies asking the government to go back to its drawing board and revise its anti-galamsey strategy.

    An environmentalist, Nana Dwomoh Sarpong, said the government’s top-bottom operations were not yielding any results.

    He argued that “we have had Operation Vanguard, Operation Akufo-Addo involved in another video theft after Kirani Ayat’s episode Halt and Operation Halt II, all constituted at the top in Accra, but the problem persists, which tells us that something is wrong in our strategy.”

    “The regions and districts are there already; they know all the areas and the people who engage in the illegal activities, so why do we send people from Accra to take charge of the operations?” he queried.

    The National Security Minister, however, assured the public that the revision of the security strategy to fight illegal mining will incorporate all suggestions made by both private and governmental institutions.

    He, thus, called for collaboration between stakeholders to ensure a safe mining industry.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Ghana cocoa, coffee could be banned from EU under new rules – Oppong Nkrumah warns

    Information Minister Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah has warned that Ghana might soon be unable to export cocoa and coffee to some international markets.

    According to Oppong Nkrumah, the ban might happen because of a new legislation in Europe.

    In a post shared on Facebook, the minister indicated that the government was warned of this move by the Ghana Embassy in Belgium, which has started working to ensure that the ban does not come into force.

    “In Europe, there is a new legislation that could soon make Ghanaian cocoa and coffee unexportable to many international markets.

    “The Ghana Embassy in Belgium under the leadership of Ambassador Sena Boateng has moved swiftly to bring this to the attention of the Government of Ghana. It has also commenced work on realigning Ghanaian and European interests in cocoa and coffee,” parts of the post read.

    He added that Ghana and other cocoa-producing countries in the West African sub-region must act swiftly to ensure that they are on the same page with European countries.

    “Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire need to act quickly to secure the industry while meeting the interests of European markets else millions of households and our entire economies could be significantly affected soon,” he said.

    The European Commission in November 2021 tabled a legislative proposal that aims at curbing deforestation and forest degradation driven by the expansion of agricultural land used to produce specific commodities, namely cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya and wood, as part of its efforts to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

    The legislation will mandate European countries to come up with regulations that will ensure that their import of these commodities from countries like Ghana are not only legal but are harvested, extracted and processed in a sustainable manner.

    “The proposed regulation should cover high-carbon stock and biodiversity-rich ecosystems other than forests (such as wetlands, peatlands or savannahs), to avoid the problems of conversion and degradation being shifted to these landscapes,” parts of the legislation read.

    The commission also indicated that sanctions on exporting countries who fail to meet the set standards should include a ban on their export.

    View the minister’s post below:

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Ghana makes huge revenue windfall from global crude price hikes – John Jinapor

    Ranking Member of Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee, John Jinapor, has ‘shot down’ government’s claims that the Russia-Ukraine war is the cause of Ghana’s economic difficulties.

    According to him, “the evidence as contained in the 2022 semi-annual report on Petroleum receipts has revealed that Ghana is making huge windfalls from the sale of crude oil, royalties, tax payments and surface rentals from the three oil producing fields bequeathed to the current NPP government.”

    John Jinapor who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu constituency in a statement further indicated that, “Ghana is indeed blessed with abundant natural resources generating significant revenues to the national purse, the hard truth is that the current economic hardships can only be the result of bad leadership and poor decision making by the current managers of the economy.”

    Read his press statement below;

    Ghana makes huge revenue windfall from global crude price hikes

    Contrary to the narrative by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-led government that the Russia/Ukraine war is impacting negatively on revenue mobilisation on all fronts, the evidence as contained in the 2022 semi-annual report on petroleum receipts has revealed that Ghana is making huge windfalls from the sale of crude oil, royalties, tax payments and surface rentals from the three oil producing fields bequeathed to the current NPP government.

    Section 4.1 (page 31) of the PIAC report confirms that an amount of $731.94 million was realised from Ghana’s oil resources in the first half of 2022.

    This amount is equivalent to about GH¢6.7billion (using an exchange rate of $1 to GH¢9.2) which has already surpassed the total annual projected Petroleum revenues estimated at GH¢6,628 million under paragraph 253 of the 2022 Annual Budget statement presented to Parliament in November 2021.

    “From this development, it is obvious that Ghana is on course to achieving a quadruple or more of the original projected revenues from the Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa Gye-Nyame fields for the 2022 fiscal year.

    In addition, other revenue handles have witnessed significant positive out-turns over and above their projected targets.

    For instance, the 2022 Fiscal data report from the Ministry of Finance reveals that the Price Stabilisation & Recovery Levy alone has so far accrued GH¢798,021,065 as compared to a projected figure of GH¢269,348,015, which is almost 300% more than the revenue target for the first two quarters of the year, 2022.

    We therefore wish to reiterate our position that some portions from these extraordinary windfalls can be used to cushion the ordinary consumer in terms of soft subsidies at the pumps.

    It is important to remind the Economic Management Team (EMT) under Dr. Bawumia that a litre of diesel currently sells at the pumps at a whopping GH¢65.25 leading to severe hardships and suffering accros the country.

    Ghana is indeed blessed with abundant natural resources generating significant revenues to the national purse, the hard truth is that the current economic hardships can only be the result of bad leadership and poor decision making by the current managers of the economy.

    Signed:
    Hon John Abdulai Jinapor
    (Ranking Member, Mines and Energy Committee)

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Akufo-Addo created over 5.3 million jobs in his first term – Wireko-Brobby

    Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko-Brobby, has revealed that President Akufo-Addo’s flagship programmes have created over 5.3 million jobs for the Ghanaian people.

    Delivering a speech at this year’s Ghana Job Fair dubbed “Green Edition” in Tamale, the Hemang Lower Denkyira MP noted that “these jobs are either formal or informal, permanent or temporary and full-time or part-time.”

    According to him, government initiatives such as the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), Youth Employment Programme, One-District-One-Factory Initiative, and the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme, are what have contributed primarily to the over 5.3 million jobs.

    This feat, Mr Wireko-Brobby described as unprecedented and the first in the history of the Fourth Republic.

    The Deputy Minister’s assertion comes at a time when Ghana is witnessing a dramatic increase in unemployment rate.

    Despite the government’s initiative to solve the devastating unemployment rate in the country, the labour force that is without work as of 2020 was 4.65%, a 0.34% increase from 2019.

    Ghana’s unemployment rate in 2022 was 4.70%, a 0.05% increase from 2020.

    In the second quarter of 2022, the Annual Household and Expenditure Survey (AHIES), under the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa Project, revealed that the unemployment rate rose from 13.4 percent to 13.9 percent (1.8 million people).

    Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Anim, revealed that at the end of June this year, about 850,000 people who had jobs at the beginning of the year lost their jobs. Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations has maintained that the government is committed to investing in programmes and creating more opportunities, especially for the youth, to have adequate income security.

    He touted that, as part of efforts to create jobs and equal opportunities, his outfit has created an enabling environment for all relevant stakeholders to foster linkages and build synergies for job creation.

    “As a responsible government, we would continue to roll out more programmes and interventions to give hope to the teeming youth who hitherto were in a state of despair.

    He further added that ”the newly introduced YouStart initiative would also complement existing programmes to create more decent opportunities for the youth.”

    Although the government has said it is committed to addressing youth unemployment, it failed to sustain its NABCO programme, which enrolled 100,000 graduates.

    The programme which commenced in 2017 was brought to an end on September 1, 2022, after government faced challenges with paying allowances to trainees of the programme.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Cedi depreciation heightens demand for cocoa price increase

    October 1 is designated annually as Cocoa Day. It marks the commencement of the cocoa year which ends in September the following year.

    Cocoa Day is dedicated to celebrating the work and contributions of smallholder farmers to cocoa-producing economies and also the world cocoa and chocolate industry.

    Among others, it raises awareness about the difficult working and economic conditions of the millions of cocoa growers who account for the cocoa beans used in manufacturing the world’s favourite snack – chocolate.

    In Ghana, the celebration of Cocoa Day is particularly significant for a number of reasons.

    Firstly, it marks the official opening of the main crop season and sets the tone for internal marketing or cocoa buying activities.

    Secondly and most importantly, this is the day the President of Ghana or a representative announces the cocoa producer price or farmgate price for the ensuing cocoa season.

    While the announcement is a common yearly ritual, there are quite some reasons to suggest that the yet-to-be-disclosed 2022/23 producer price could either make or break an industry sitting on tenterhooks.

    Here are some 5 reasons the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC) may be considering as it concludes its work.

    No cocoa producer price adjustment in 2 years

    The prevailing cocoa producer price was first announced by President Nana AKufo-Addo on 24th September 2020 at Sefwi Wiawso, ahead of the 2020/21 Cocoa season.

    One metric tonne of cocoa beans was pegged at GHS10,560, which works down to GHS660 per 64kg bag. The same producer price was maintained for the soon-expiring 2021/22 season. In effect, there was no increment.

    The 2020 farmgate price represented a 28% increase over the 2019/20 season’s figure of GHS515 per bag or GHS8,240 per tonne.

    While announcing the government’s decision to maintain the same price for 2021, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Akoto Afriyie, explained that in spite of the fall in the world market price of cocoa, among other factors, such as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy, the producer price of Gh¢10,560.00 per tonne, represented 87.15 % of the FOB value demonstrating government’s commitment towards improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers.”

    But for cocoa farmers, a lot has changed in terms of the economic situation in the country since October 2020, which they contend warrants an increment come hell or high water.

    Whereas sections of farmers are expecting a modest 30% raise, still others are demanding GHS1500 for a bag of cocoa beans citing obvious reasons.

    Whatever the change to be announced, it does seem certain that the 2022/23 cocoa producer price would either pump up some level of hope among farmers or could be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.

    Loss of value to Cedi depreciation

    The 2020 historic hike in the cocoa producer price was the direct result of implementing the $400-per-tonne Living Income Different (LID), a poverty alleviation bonus agreed upon in 2019 between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, on the one side, and cocoa buyers and chocolate companies on the other.

    The LID translates to $25 per bag, which in October 2020 converted to GHS145 at an exchange rate of GHS5.8 to the USD. That amount added to the previous year’s producer price of GHS515 summed to GHS660.

    The payment of the full sum of the LID to cocoa farmers was in direct fulfilment of a condition underlying the agreement.

    It’s interesting that although there have been exchange rate gains in the last 2 years, at least for the $25-LID component, the farmgate price has remained unchanged.

    The GHS660 per bag producer price itself as of the time of the first announcement was worth $114, but is presently worth about $69 at today’s BoG USD-GHS exchange rate of 9.54GHS.

    Meanwhile, per Ghana Statistical Service data the inflation rate rose from 9.9% at the end of 2020 to 33.9% at the end of August this year impacting the prices of goods and services and taking a toll on cocoa farmers.

    Definitely, there needs to be some price adjustment to compensate for the over 55% value lost to the already disadvantaged smallholder cocoa farmer, at least in a similar manner as the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA) recently paid to civil servants.

    Exponential rise in input and production cost

    Supply chain disruptions occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine conflict have driven a scarcity in the fertiliser and agrochemicals market with its attendant price increase.

    Prices of various types of agro-input products on the Ghanaian market have reportedly seen astronomical increases of between 300 – 400%, if available at all.

    In the same vein, fuel, transportation and utilities prices have recorded quite significant upward adjustments since the last cocoa producer price increase aggravating the living condition of cocoa growers.

    Meanwhile, the cost of labour for farm maintenance is now said to be out of the reach of poor smallholder farmers.

    Cash-strapped youth of cocoa communities are reportedly moving in droves to illegal gold mining centres, where galamsey kingpins are believed to offer very competitive daily wages.

    In a nutshell, these circumstances, among others, have consequently shot the cocoa farmer’s cost of production through the roof.

    Certainly, there is no gainsaying Ghana’s gallant cocoa farmers require urgent intervention in the compensation paid for their toil in order to sustain their cocoa production efforts.

    Galamsey invasion

    Information emanating from Ghana Cocoa Board suggests that in a space of 1 year some 19,000 hectares of vibrant cocoa farms were lost to galamsey activities in only two regions.

    Some of these farms are said to have been forcibly destroyed by illegal galamsey gold miners, while others were allegedly leased to the miners by land owners, mainly traditional authorities.

    However, it is emerging that many frustrated and disillusioned cocoa farmers are now also joining the fray and willingly turning over their farms to galamsey operators in nightmarish cocoa for cash trend, a situation confirmed by the sector regulator – Cocobod.

    Recent environmental monitoring and investigative reports indicate that the advancement of galamsey gangs, some of whom are armed to the teeth, is akin to a raging fire devouring water bodies, land and farms alike.

    Judging by the sentiments from cocoa communities and farmers, it is palpably clear that the President’s producer price announcement for the upcoming season wields the wand to either make or break the country’s cocoa sector.

    Competition from other cash crops

    In some areas in the Central and Western cocoa regions, and indeed in other regions as well, it is reported that some cocoa farmers have begun diversifying into other cash crops.

    Certain farm owners in cocoa rehabilitation zones are, for instance, said to be resisting the programme opting instead to grow other commercial plants.

    Popular among the alternative cash crops are cashew, rubber and oil palm. The actions of these cocoa farmers are premised on the promise of better incomes and livelihood for themselves and their families.

    Perhaps now is the time for cocoa buyers and chocolate companies to walk the talk to improve living incomes for cocoa farmers as well as expand their sustainability programming to cover the remaining 80% of Ghana’s 800,000 cocoa farming families.

    Such interventions would no doubt contribute immensely to achieving the sustainability goals of the cocoa and chocolate industry.

    Make or break

    Finally, on the occasion of the 2022 Cocoa Day celebration at Suhum, in the Eastern Region, Ghanaian cocoa farmers have made a clarion call for a price increase that not only offers a glimmer of hope and reason to hold their position against illegal gold mining and but also to cushion them against the harsh economic conditions felt by all and sundry across the nation.

    But while the expectation of farmers remains high, and understandably so, it is also worth noting that the international market prices for cocoa have plummeted from a 2020 average of $2500 per tonne to $2200 per tonne in 2022.

    Ghana Cocoa Board July this year announced it has had to subsidise the producer price of cocoa to the tune of $400 million yearly as world market prices tumbled amidst the erosion of origin premiums by buyers.

    Within that period, Ghana’s neighbour Cote d’Ivoire has reduced its own cocoa producer price by 9% to the current CFA41250 per bag converting to GHS628.31, which is lower than the GHS660 Ghana pays.

    However, should Ghana fail to increase the price of cocoa and Cote d’Ivoire goes ahead to announce a price increase higher than that of Ghana fears are that it could spark a wave of cross-border smuggling.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Mankessim murder: Fetish priest, Ebusuapanyin ‘missing’ since incident – Report

    Two key personalities in the Mankessim area where a ritual murder is said to have taken place earlier this month have gone missing for weeks now.

    The two are the fetish priest of the area and one Mr. Kwesi Gyan, the Abiradze Ebusuapayin, a relation of one of the suspects, Nana Clarke.

    Nana Akwa III, the Chief of Akwakrom, at a press conference this week has called for the arrest and inquiry into the activities of the two persons “who could not be tracked since the news broke out,” a GNA report of September 29 read.

    “We are appealing to the police to interrogate his fetish priest in the community who the Tufohen liked so much and took cover prior to his arrest,” Nana Akwa pleaded.

    Nana Akwa, during the press conference wondered how the Tufohen dug the craters containing numerous bottles and dead materials without the knowledge of the Ebusuapanyin.

    “Since the arrest of the Tufohen, all attempts to reach his Ebusuapanyin, who was always in the community, has not been successful. There is no way anyone can dig out two pits in two separate rooms in a family house without the knowledge of the Ebusuapanyin. This is incomprehensible.

    “More so, prior to the arrest of the Tufohen, his Ebusuapanyin was billed to meet the Chief and elders on some teething community issues, but he cannot be found. And why is he not answering our calls,” the Chief revealed.

    GNA report on police arrests and latest discoveries

    Hundreds of people on Thursday gathered in front of the house of Christopher Ekow Quansah, the Tufuhen of Mankessim, to catch a glimpse of him and self-styled pastor Michael Darko, who allegedly murdered one Ms. Georgina Asor Botchwey.

    A police team had led the two accused persons, who allegedly confessed to the killing of three more people, to the house of the Tufohen, located just after the Pacific Fuel Station, near the Mankessim Lorry Station for further investigations.

    The crowd hooted at them amid name calling and casting of aspersions as drivers in traffic temporarily stopped over to watch the two, who have notoriously become famous.

    A source told the GNA that the two accused persons had confessed to killing three other people, a male and two females and led the police team on Thursday afternoon, to the various locations.

    The witness said the accused persons first took the team to the house of the Tufohen at Mankessim and Akwakrom near Mankessim, where they carried out their criminal activities.

    The police thoroughly searched the rooms and took vital document and information for further investigation.

    Again, in Mankessim, the two took the police team to a location where a male teacher was allegedly invited by them and was shot and killed instantly and his toes cut.

    The police were also taken to a location in the Ekumfi District where they allegedly shot and killed a female trader and buried her under a bridge in the Ekumfi District.

    The team also visited a location at Batanya in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamakese District, where they allegedly killed a young lady from Kumasi.

    Apparently, the two pretended to be travel agents and prepared a traveling document for her to travel to Holland.

    The two allegedly told the police that they met the lady at Batanyaa on the Cape Coast-Assin Fosu Highway and killed her.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • ECOWAS condemns Burkina Faso coup, demands respect for 2024 transition deal

    The West African regional bloc, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has condemned the September 30, 2022 coup that took place in Burkina Faso, where a new military junta overthrew another.

    What started out as an exchange of heavy gunfire on Friday morning was confirmed late in the evening with a broadcast on National TV announcing the takeover.

    In a statement issues from the ECOWAS Commission hours after the announcement, the bloc said it firmly condemned the incident at a time the Sandaogo Damiba-led junta was making progress on an orderly return to constitutional order by July 1, 2024.

    The junta said a new leader – civilian or military will be be announced in due course, but before that some measures put in place include dissolution of the government, the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT), and the Transition Charter as well as the closure of borders.

    COMMUNIQUE OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION ON THE SOCIO-POLITICAL SITUATION IN BURKINA FASO

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemns in the strongest terms the seizure of power by force which took place Friday, September 30, 2022 in Burkina Faso.

    ECOWAS finds this new coup inopportune at a time when progress has been made, thanks to diplomacy and the efforts of ECOWAS for a methodical return to constitutional order no later than July 1, 2024.

    ECOWAS reaffirms its unreserved opposition to any taking or maintaining of the
    power by unconstitutional means and demands scrupulous respect for the timeline already agreed with the Transitional Authorities for a swift return to constitutional order no later than July 1, 2024.

    ECOWAS warns any institution, force or group of people who by acts would prevent the programmed return to constitutional order or would contribute to the weakening of peace and stability in Burkina Faso and the Region.

    The ECOWAS Commission remains seized of the development of the situation.

    Done in Abuja on September 30, 2022.

    The President of the Commission

    How the coup was announced:

    A coup d’etat was announced by one Captain Ibrahim Traore on state TV flanked by fully armed and masked soldiers.

    It came barely 10 months after the last one that removed democratically elected Christian Roch Marc Kabore from power. The Traore-led junta thus deposed Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba from power.

    Reports of heavy artillery gunfire in the wee hours of Friday morning and heavy military presence in parts of the capital Ouagadougou raised fears of a takeover.

    But the Presidency in a statement on Facebook said negotiations were ongoing and that an enemy was seeking to sow division between the people.

    The state broadcaster went off for hours and returned to normal programming. But this evening, a group of armed soldiers appeared on the state TV to announce a takeover according to multiple reports.

    The new junta announced that they have deposed Damiba as leader of the same coup vehicle that came into power in January, hence they are only taking over the leadership of the MPSR.

    They cited the continued degradation of the security situation in the West African country as basis for their action.

    They have also promised an immediate reorganization of the military with the view to halt the terrorist attacks and to restore durable security across the country.

    Watch the address (in French) of the coup leader below:

    On May 24, 2021, Mali’s President, Bah N’daw, Prime Minister, Moctar Ouane and Minister of Defence, Souleymane Doucoure were captured by the Malian Army led by Vice President, Assimi Goita as the head of the junta.

    They subsequently announced that N’daw and Ouane were stripped of their powers pending new general elections to be held in 2022.

    This was the second time Goita had grabbed power, he emerged as the coup leader when late President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was removed in 2020 on the back of mass protests arising largely from insecurity.

    Guinea experienced a coup, on September 5, 2021, when its President, Alpha Condé, was captured by the country’s armed forces after gunfire in the capital, Conakry.

    Special forces commander Mamady Doumbouya released a broadcast on state television announcing the dissolution of the constitution and government.

    Burkina Faso recorded a coup on Monday, January 24, 2022. The country’s Army, led by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba confirmed that it had dissolved the government and the national assembly, as well as closed the borders.

    Damiba will go on to announce a reconciliation body and meet with other stakeholders including regional leaders with the view of transitioning to democratic rule in the shortest possible time.

    As recently as a week ago, he defended the January coup describing it as necessary and calling for concerted effort to combat terrorism in the region when he spoke at the 77th United Nations General Assembly.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Kumasi and its people are an important priority for the U.S – U.S Ambassador

    US Ambassador, Virginia Palmer, has expressed elation about her visit to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region.

    Having been her first visit to the region since her appointment as ambassador, Virginia Palmer visited the palace of the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at Manhyia.

    Among other things, there were discussions about the continuous investment of the U.S in Ghana’s human capital based on strong bilateral ties rooted in history and common democratic values, 3news reports.

    “I’m thrilled to visit Kumasi, the historic capital of the Ashanti Region. I was honored to meet the Asantehene today. Kumasi and its people are an important priority for the United States and I’m glad to have met so many Kumasifuo. I will be back soon,” 3news quotes the U.S. Ambassador Palmer as having said during her trip.

    The ambassador also met with the Ashanti Regional Minister and leadership of the National House of Chiefs to discuss issues regarding peacebuilding and governance, and the role of traditional leaders in the development of the Ghanaian people respectively.

    Ambassador Virginia Palmer also met with journalists with whom she interacted and reiterated the U.S’ commitment to promoting press freedom and development for journalists and then subsequently met with local entrepreneurs during her visit to the Kumasi Hive.

    During this meeting, she encouraged local entrepreneurs and emphasized their roles in contributing to economic growth.

    This follows the training of more than 300 local Senior High School students at the Kumasi Hive, with entrepreneurship skills, including design thinking, marketing, and a pitch competition with the support of the U.S. Embassy.

    “Promoting inclusion and economic growth, trade, and investment is one of the top priorities of the U.S. government, and enhancing the skills of entrepreneurs across various sectors can boost sustainable economic growth,” said Ambassador Palmer.

    Ambassador Palmer concluded her trip with Kumasi-based alumni of U.S. Government exchange programs, including alumni of the Fulbright Program and Mandela Washington Fellowship.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Nico Williams show signs of improvement with Bilbao and the Spanish national team

    Nico Williams has established himself as a starter in his second season with the first team, has significantly improved his game, and was pivotal in his debut for the whole national team by assisting Morata in the match against Portugal.

    Nico is only 20 years old, and there is still a lot of space to develop into a football player who can make a difference.

     

     

    He now understands the game better and give Bilbao‘s coach many options in attack.

    He has the ability to receive the ball, alter the rhythm through pure individual skill, and attack the depth with sprints into open space. Additionally, makes clever moves between the lines to get an edge.

    He has two goals (0.43 / 90 minutes) and one assist (0.22 / 90 minutes) in six days. He gives 1.72 passes that end in shooting, finishes 2.1 times with expected goals of 0.23 goals, generates 0.31 expected assists and has 60.6% success in his dribbling (7.11/90 minutes ).

  • Ghanaian youngster Darko Gyabi already catching the eye at Leeds United

    English-born Ghanaian youngster Darko Gyabi has churned out impressive displays at Leeds United following his summer move to LS11.

    According to Joe Donnohue, despite having only arrived at Elland Road in a £5m move from Manchester City back in July, the 18-year-old is already shining for the Whites’ U21 side.

    In his tweet, Donnohue said: “Liked the look of Darko Gyabi at LUFC so far. Strong, technical & vocal at times. Behind Romeo Lavia in the pecking order at City, which is no slight on him given Lavia has gone straight into a PL starting XI. Talent was always there, it just needed unlocking.”

    Considering just how impressive Gyabi has been for Michael Skubala’s U21 side already this season, it very much appears as if Victor Orta sealed something of a masterclass when bringing the teenager to Leeds this summer, as the midfielder could well prove to develop into the Whites’ next big talent in the middle of the park.

    The highly-rated midfielder has scored one in his five Premier League 2 appearances this season and registered one assist.

    However, it is Gyabi’s composure on the ball that appears to be one of his more notable traits, with Donnohue also stating his belief that the England U19 international is a player who “moves through the gears really well, escapes pressure and can pick a forward pass.”

    Furthermore, Jesse Marsch also appears to have taken notice of the 18-year-old, with the American stating of the playmaker back in July: “We were excited from the start about the possibility of adding him to the group and now watching him live and seeing his mentality to improve, even more so.”

    As such, should the 48-year-old Whites boss place his trust in the former City starlet over the course of the 22/23 campaign, he could well be rewarded with the unearthing of Leeds’ next “exceptional” – in the words of Neil Harris – midfield talent, something that is sure to be an extremely exciting prospect for both the American and the Elland Road faithful alike.

  • Arsenal to miss the services of Thomas Partey ahead of London Derby clash against Tottenham Hotspur

    Arsenal will miss the services of Ghana midfielder, Thomas Partey ahead of their London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

    The 28 year old midfielder was set to start for the Black Stars in their high-profile friendly against Brazil in Le Havre on Friday, only to become a late withdrawal from the starting XI due to a precaution over what was initially reported as discomfort around the knee.

    He was granted the permission to fly back to London to recover.

    Partey had only just returned from a month out with a thigh injury in the 3-0 Premier League win over Brentford before the international break, a sixth victory from seven matches that left Mikel Arteta’s high-flying Gunners sitting top ahead of Manchester City and Tottenham.

    Partey may be set for another spell on the sidelines were heightened when, having missed the Brazil match, he withdrew altogether from the Ghana squad ahead of their second fixture against Nicaragua in Lorca on Tuesday.

    Addressing the issue on Monday, Ghana coach Addo explained that they did not want to risk Partey in a friendly and expressed hope he would return very quickly.

    “Hopefully Thomas will be healthy very, very soon,” he told reporters.

    “We didn’t want to take that risk in a friendly game to play him against Brazil, but surely playing a player like him against a squad like Brazil would have been helpful.”

    Arsenal host Spurs at the Emirates with kick off scheduled at 11:30AM.

  • Why Ghana must plan its World Cup without Thomas Partey

    In a transfer window where Arsenal spent over 132.5m euros on players, fans were still dissatisfied as they believe that despite the strengthening of certain areas of the squad, some gaps that derailed their Champions League quest last season remained unfilled.

    Coach Mikel Arteta and Technical Director were given a sharp reminder of the shortfalls in the squad when three games into the season, the unwelcome yet familiar story of Thomas Partey getting injured hit them again.

    With few days left before the summer transfer window closed, Arsenal had to enter desperate and frantic mode after Egyptian midfielder Mohammed Elneny who replaced Partey in the Arsenal starting suffered an injury in his first start for the club this season. A long-term injury, unfortunately.

    Arsenal had to press the panic button on the last day of the transfer window with Brazilian and Aston Villa midfielder, Douglas Luiz the subject of three bids that were all turned down by his club.

    There was a sense of disappointment and vindication from Arsenal fans as they have seen this incident play out repeatedly since the days of Arsene Wenger when the club lose its key players to injury and that thwarts their ambitions.

    In his thriving ‘lone 6’ role, Thomas Partey is perhaps Arsenal’s most important player whose presence or otherwise determines whether the club win a game or loses.

    His importance to the squad can be seen in Arsenal’s last 45 games. Partey played an underwhelming 28 and in those 28, victory came in 20 of them. In the 17 that Partey missed, Arsenal won 8 and lost 8 with one draw. In the 28 games he played, Arsenal lost just 6 and drew 2.

    With Partey in the team, the club average 2.2 points per game compared to 1.5 without him. Their win percentage shoots up to 71.4 when he is on the team and nosedives to 47.1% when he is injured.

    They average 2.0 goals per game when he is in the middle and have just 1.4 when he is out of the team. Defensively, Partey is key too, goals against when he is on the side is 1.0 and increase to 1.6 when he is not on the side.

    In these impressive stats that provide numerical and cogent evidence of the importance of Partey to Arsenal lies the worrying stats of the number of games he has missed. In Arsenal’s last 45 Premier League games, he has missed 17 of them which is a worrying stat for Mikel Arteta’s side as there appears to be no one in the team who offers something close or similar to what Partey offers the side when he is fit.

    According to the reliable Orbinho, Partey has started just 58% of Arsenal’s Premier League matches since his move from Atletico Madrid two seasons ago. This was before he missed Arsenal’s games against Fulham, Aston Villa and Manchester United. What this means is that Arsenal have had their most important player not available for selection for 42% of the time he has been with the club.

    These stats show that remarkably incredible yet unreliable player who a club or country cannot depend on for consistent success.

    A look at Partey’s numbers with the Black Stars since he moved to Arsenal shows that in 26 games (including the latest matches against Nicaragua and Brazil) played, the midfield enforcer has missed 14 and featured in 12. That’s more than 50% of games.

    The stats supplied by GHPL Stats, Derrick Ayim indicate that in the 12 matches he played, Ghana won Ghana 4, lost 4, and drew the same amount. He scored four and assisted four in those 12 games.

    Of course, he is important and will prove decisive but the handlers of the Black Stars should be picking cues from the failure of Arsenal to plan for life without their marquee yet undependable player.

    Partey’s injuries were a reason the club missed out on the Champions League by a whisker last season and could be a reason they fail to meet their target again this season and Otto Addo and his cohorts should be thinking along the line of preparing their team for the World Cup without Partey.

    Preparing for a crucial tournament without factoring in a player who plays for a top six club in Europe’s most competitive league might sound ridiculous and unrealistic but in order not to be caught in the same situation as Arsenal, it is imperative that Otto Addo prepares his team with Partey not at the centre of it as there is a real likelihood that he would miss the World Cup or miss some of the games.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • Fintech and Crypto Industry players urged to safeguard the interest of consumers

    Director of Fintech and Innovation at Bank of Ghana Mr Kwame Oppong, has called on Fintech and Crypto Industry leaders to be resolute in building safe and resilient space to safeguard the interest of consumers.

    He said the enormous opportunity for affordable digital delivery of financial services to enhance financial inclusion had emerged as a new business model product and mode of interaction, posing a significant challenge to governance regulation, consumer protection, and financial integrity.

    “For this reason, the Bank of Ghana implemented reforms to enable innovation in the financial services industry without compromising financial stability of which the Payment and Services Act of 2019 is at the care.”

    Mr Oppong made the call when he addressed about 400 Fintech and Crypto Industry leaders from across Africa at a two-day Africa Money and Decentralised Finance (DeFi) Summit – West Africa edition in Accra.

    He noted that Act 987 and other related notices issued by the Bank of Ghana had non-traditional entities such as Fintech to be licensed to provide various digital financial services under a proportionate and risk-based licensing regime.

    “The elevations of these team players are positively disrupting the financial services industry and generating competition while encouraging strategic partnerships among these banks and financial technology providers,” he stated.

    Mr Oppong said immense benefits had been reaped from using the regulatory environment provided by the Bank of Ghana, resulting in phenomenal increases in financial inclusion from 58 per cent in 2017 to 68 per cent in 2021 and that this was noteworthy.

    He said since the Fintech Innovation Office was established in 2020 at the Bank of Ghana, which was one of the few such outfits globally among central banks to regulate and supervise, a total of 47 payment service providers and mobile money operators, both Ghanaians and foreign, were approved across various licensing categories to provide payment services.

    “The interest of the investors both local and international continue to increase on the account of the favourable regulatory regime and the abundance of opportunities.  Similarly, the bank is noted for its open-door policy and constructive engagement with industry stakeholders, prospective service providers and innovators.”

    The Director said a considerable resource have been invested in studying and monitoring development in virtual assets and similar products including decentralized finance applications, non-fund road tokens, among others.

    “The Ghanaian ecosystem is still an upcoming frontier market and therefore it takes these studies and findings seriously. Our regulatory stance is in line with our mandate to ensure financial stability of which consumer protection and financial integrity are essential component,” he stated.

    Mr Oppong said: “To this end, the Bank of Ghana would continue to monitor development and implement measures to forestall any risk in the ecosystem in collaboration with other regulators and stakeholders where necessary.

    “Any regulation issued will be in line with our quest to promote safe, sustainable and inclusive innovation that kindle the confidence in the ecosystem, and I must emphasise that consumer trust is of utmost importance to any financial service industry and in this case a key ingredient to achiving our financial inclusion goals.”

    Mr Andrew Fassnidge, Founder Africa Tech Summit Kigali and London, said the purpose of the summit was to discuss and connect people to do business and was attended by key stakeholders like startup ventures, banking regulators and investors.

    The expectation was to see the growth of crypto across Africa and a new wave of DeFi to drive business and investment.

    The Africa Money and Summit West Africa is a leading African fintech, decetralised finance, mobile money and crypto event brought by curators of Africa Tech Summit series and provides insight and networking within the Pan-African Fintech, DeFi and Crypto ecosystem.

    Source: GNA 

  • Moving to Germany was the best move for me – Hudson-Odoi

    Callum Hudson-Odoi, a target for Ghana, admitted that leaving England to play for Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga was the best decision he had made.

    At Stamford Bridge, Hudson-Odoi lost favor under Thomas Tuchel as a result of injuries that kept him out for several weeks.

    The 21-year-old signed a season-long loan agreement with the Bundesliga team in an effort to increase his playing time as he seeks to reach peak fitness.

    The winger said in an interview that after taking part in a few games for the team, he has been able to live up to his expectations.

    “Coming out here my aim was to get as many games as possible and build on the fitness that I haven’t really had in the last couple of seasons for Chelsea,” he said as quoted by astamfordbridgetoofar.com.

    “Game-wise I have been playing a lot here and I’m really enjoying it and every moment here, trying to help the team as much as possible, scoring goals and assisting goals, just doing whatever even if not scoring or assisting, just being influential in the team.”

    Hudson-Odoi has made five appearances for Bayer Leverkusen across all competitions and provided one assist.

  • I didn’t do music for fame, I wanted to inspire people – Zahara

    South African singer and songwriter Zahara has said that fame and popularity were not her goals when she decided to be an artiste.

    According to her, she wanted to write music to inspire people from across the globe.

    Speaking to Lexis Bill on JoyFM, Zahara said that “I wasn’t writing my music to be in the industry. I never knew about the industry. I wrote my music to inspire people, to give hope to people.”

    She explained that having people listen to her songs even in Ghana to the point she is a household name is proof that God can change the life of people including her.

    Zahara stated that it is important people do not rush through their journeys but rather be patient and wait for their time.

    “In life, do not hurry…you might hurry thinking you’ll get to your own stop in time, no it doesn’t work like that. You must wait for your destiny,” she said.

    Zahara added that “if ever in life you want to be something, you believe you are somebody, you believe in something, never give up on your dream or your vision. Don’t want to be called a dreamer, be called an achiever. Dream and achieve.”

    Meanwhile, the singer is expected to perform at the seventh Exclusive Men of the Year (EMY) Africa Awards slated for Saturday, October 1, at the Accra international conference centre, Accra.

    The ceremony was established to honour and celebrate eminent men exclusively.

    Zahara, whose music has been classified loosely as ‘Afro-soul’, will thrill participants at the Awards with her captivating songs, in her native Xhosa language and in English.

    Source:myjoyonline.com

  • ‘Software glitches at ECG a reminder to Ghanaian leaders to think critically’ – Bright Simons

    The recent issues the Electricity Company of Ghana is having with prepaid meters, according to Vice-President of IMANI-Africa Bright Simons, are proof that the government shouldn’t put all of its eggs in one basket.

    He remarked that maintaining all services on one card will cause issues should technical difficulties arise in a tweet on September 30, 2022.

    By the way, he added, the ECG software issues serve as a lesson to Ghanaian authorities to THINK CRITICALLY as they continue to promote the misguided notion of consolidating all municipal services into a single Ghana Card database.
    The nation will shut down if a zero-day or ransomware exploit is used!”

    For the past three days, consumers have been left stranded due to technical hitches the Electricity Company of Ghana is facing.

    This has led to the disruption of the activities of both households and businesses.

    Scores of customers have been spotted at various ECG retail shops in a bid to buy prepaid electricity.

    The Public Utility Regulatory Commission(PURC) has assured customers that the commission is working closely with the Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG) to resolve utility service struggles.

    The ECG announced on Thursday, September 29, 2022, that it is facing a technical challenge that has affected its prepaid metering systems. The electricity service provider said the challenge has interrupted the purchase of electricity credit.

    The PURC, in a statement also issued on Thursday, said that the commission has noticed the concerns raised regarding vending problems and promised to work with the ECG to find a quick resolution to the matter.

    “The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission(PURC) has noticed with concern, challenges experienced in vending, by consumers on ECash and PNS Metering Systems of the Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG). The Commission is closely monitoring the situation and in full discussions with the service provider to address the issues,” the statement read.

    “The Commission wishes to assure all affected customers of its commitment to ensuring the delivery of a safe and reliable utility service provision and to have the issue resolved quickly,” it added.

  • Joyce asks Dr UN to leave her house

    Joyce Dzidzor Mensah has asked Dr UN to leave her house barely two weeks into the marriage they claimed to have spent over 300, 000 cedis on.

    In a video shared on Instagram by blogger, Vim News Ghana, the former female AIDS Ambassador disclosed it was difficult living with the awards organiser.

    While making this known, she could be seen angry when she asked the controversial Global Blueprint Excellence Awards organiser, not to touch her while making her point clear.

    According to Joyce, it’s not as if Dr UN doesn’t have a house of his own.

    Joyce’s video follows a post she shared on social media insinuating she was tired of leaving with her newly wedded husband after he had gifted her a brand new car.

    According to Joyce, she is “going through a lot right now.”

    The wife of Kwame Owusu Fordjour in her post proposed that marriage shouldn’t be a lifetime union between a man and woman but renewable by contract.

    “I think marriage should be contractual. Maximum years of living together 3 years and a minimum of one month so that when both of you are not compatible, you can terminate the marriage contract. I am going through a lot right now. Feeling depressed,” read the post sighted by GhanaWeb on September 29.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Vim News Ghana (@vim_news_ghana)

    Source:ghanaweb.com

     

  • Ignore big names and prioritize player selection on fitness and form – JE Sarpong tells Black Stars coach Otto Addo

    Former Great Olympics and Ebusua Dwarfs coach, JE Sarpong has implored Black Stars head coach, Otto Addo, to prioritize inviting players based on fitness and form and not big names.

    His comments come following Ghana’s September friendly games against Brazil and Nicaragua.

    The Black Stars suffered a 3-0 defeat to the five-time world champions at the Le Harve in France before beating 139th-ranked, Nicaragua 1-0.

    According to the veteran trainer, the technical team of the Black Stars focus must be on using Ghana’s international friendlies to do another assessment of the players and how well they fit into the team to ensure a strong Black Stars side capable of going into the World Cup tournament with their best foot forward.


     

    “The truth is that Ghana has names who are playing well outside but currently don’t have a team which is near competitive. These friendly games will ultimately turn out positively for a team in the World Cup,” he told Graphic Sports.

    “Selection must be done on merit and those who have the heart to perform. On a bigger stage like the World Cup, it is only players who have big hearts who must be encouraged to play,” he said.

    The Black Stars will take on Switzerland in November in their final preparatory games before heading to Qatar for the Mundial which kick off from November 20 to December 18.

  • ECG extends working hours weekend over prepaid vending challenges

    The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced that all district offices around the nation will extend their business hours this weekend.

    This comes after the technical issue preventing the seamless delivery of service to prepaid clients in several operational areas of the nation.

    The state-power distributor announced in a statement that its district offices will be open on Saturday, October 1, and Sunday, October 2, 2022, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

    The statement concluded, “The Electricity Company of Ghana wishes to once again reassure our cherished customers that our staff is working diligently to correct the anomaly and ensure a smooth service provision.

    Some ECG customers are unable to top-up electric power credit on prepaid metres for the past three days.

    The problem which started on Monday is yet to be fixed.

    The technical challenge has affected customers in 10 operational regional areas of the ECG in Volta, Kumasi, Accra, Takoradi, Tema, Cape Coast, Kasoa, Winneba, Swedru, Koforidua, Nkawkaw, and Tafo.

  • Lekzy Decomic all set to crack ribs at ‘Too Cute To Be Mute’

    Lekzy Decomic together with other Ghaianain rib crackers are set to entertain fans at the second edition of ‘Too Cute To Be Mute’ at the National Theatre.

    The likes of OB Amponsah, Funny Face, Clemento Suarez, and General Ntatia are billed to perform at the comedy special alongside Kenya comedian, Simy.

    Also, audiences will be thrilled with a musical performance from Mr Drew and others.

    The much anticipated ‘Too Cute To Be Mute’ comes off on Friday, September 30 at 7:00 PM.

    Lekzy speaking on E-Forum with Abrantepa on GhanaWeb TV promises one of the best shows in the history of Ghanaian comedy adding that it will be better than the first edition.

    Source:ghanaweb.com

  • Seven things you need to know about Tariq Lamptey as he turns 22

    Right back for Ghana, Tariq Lamptey, is one of the best in the league and is described as a very pacy player who contributes a lot in both attack and defense.

    After making an impression in his first game for Chelsea, Tariq Lamptey suddenly became a major player in football.

    Here are some interesting facts about the young right back as he celebrates his 22nd birthday.

    1. Tariq Nii-Lante Lamptey was born on September 30, 2000, in Hillingdon, London, to a Ghanaian family who had recently immigrated to the city.

    2. Tariq’s father, Ahmed Lamptey enrolled him in Chelsea FC’s academy to nurture his talent as a footballer at the age of eight. It didn’t take long for him to make an impression in the club as he moved up the academy ranks very quickly and he thrived in most games he featured in.

    3. The right-back quickly shot to fame when he helped the Blues win the U-18 Premier League and had 11 assists in the 2017/2018 season. The player was rewarded with his first professional contract by Chelsea after his talent was heavily recognized by his coaches.

    4. Tariq made his debut for the Chelsea senior team under Frank Lampard in the 2019/2020 English Premier League season in a London Derby against Arsenal. The defender made two appearances for Chelsea in the Emirates FA Cup before being transferred to Brighton and Hove Albion.

    5. Lamptey played for England U-21 making his debut in a 2–1 away victory over Austria U21 in a 2021 European Championship. The young right-back made 20 appearances for the Young Lions before switching nationalities to Ghana.

    6. Tariq Lamptey made his debut for Ghana’s senior national team on September 23rd against Brazil as he came on as a substitute in the game.

    7. Although the player is yet to enjoy achievements after turning pro, Tariq was part of Chelsea’s under 18 squad that won an unprecedented quadruple trophy in a season including the u18 Premier League.

  • I don’t have confidence in the current Black Stars strikers – Dan Owusu

    Dan Owusu, a former Ghanaian international, has questioned the skills of the current Black Stars strikers.

    During the interval, Ghana, who will compete in the world championship after not qualifying for Russia 2018, played two international friendly against Brazil and Nicaragua.

    After falling to Brazil 3-0, Ghana bounced back to defeat Nicaragua 1-0 on Tuesday in Spain thanks to a goal from Abdul Fatawu Issahaku.

    The former Ghana Premier League goal king award winner has admitted he lacks faith in the attackers after scoring just one goal in the two exhibition games.

    “Many of players in the current Black Stars have good techniques individually, unfortunately, there is no team work. We still don’t have good potent goal scorers. I seriously don’t have confidence in the current strikers we have. But I hope as time goes on our strikers build confidence when they get in front of goal,” he told Koforidua-based Bryt FM.

    According to him, the availability of Inaki Williams will not solve the goal scoring woes of the national team because of his arrival.

    “Inaki Williams came late because he will only play 3 matches with the team before heading to the world cup which he has already played two. At his club because he has played with the team for long there is the cohesion he has with his teammates”

    Ghana has been paired in Group H against Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea at the World Cup.