The Deputy Ranking Member of the Education Committee in Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak has called on President Akufo-Addo to as a matter of urgency resolve issues on the appointment of the new Ghana Education Service Director-General.
His comment comes on the back of three teacher unions having declared a strike action over the appointment of Dr. Eric Nkansah.
According to the Unions, their action has been occasioned due to the failure of the government to meet the deadline to terminate the appointment of Mr. Nkansah.
The Unions are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-G).
However, the deputy ranking member thinks President Akufo-Addo is adamant about the demands of the teachers’ unions.
“Will Nana Addo keep the Acting Director General of GES to the detriment of the academic wellbeing of over 8 million Ghanaian pupils or students, whose about 400,000 teachers or masters are on strike in opposition to his appointment of Dr. Nkansah as Director General?
According to the teacher unions, Dr. Nkansah is a banker and not a professional teacher.
“The Teacher Unions did not only register their protest but also, found it unacceptable for a Banker to be appointed as a Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, GES, instead of an Educationist at a time when many teachers who did the same courses and related ones were rejected by GES.
“Because it is not related to education we stated that both the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, should apologize to teachers for accepting the very qualification they rejected when teachers presented them,” they demanded in a statement dated November 4, 2022.
A security analyst, Adib Sani, has said protest is an important exercise as it reduces built-up anger against the government in terms of economic crisis.
According to him, protesting prevents people from holding back anger, and speaking out on their frustrations as we are in dangerous times in the country.
“This demonstration is extremely important, the suffering, the uncertainty, the anger is unbelievable and we are saying that it is rather in the best interest on government for us to protest and there is so much anger if people hold it. It will create an explosive charge like the Arab spring, people were angry and they couldn’t talk because they are gagged.”
Adib Sani made the comments at the ‘Kume Preko Reloaded’ demonstration, held on November 5, 2022.
Some Ghanaians showed up in their numbers to demonstrate in demand for better living conditions and also called for the resignation of Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and Ken Ofori-Atta.
The protest started from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and ended at Black Stars Square in Accra.
The plan by tgovernment to demolish all buildings built on the Sakumono Ramsar site has undergone a significant U-turn.
This will result in the regularization of all the landowners on the specified area.
Since the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, spoke with the impacted parties, the initial planned demolition of every building on the site has been postponed.
Outcomes of the stakeholder meeting on Sunday, November 6, 2022, indicated that the government is taking steps to regularize the structures at the Ramsar site.
“I want to say here and now that not a single building will be demolished.
“We will go through some processes of discussions, and we will have this kind of meeting again in about three weeks’ time by which time we would have had a clear road map,” he said.
It will be recalled that weeks ago, the Regional Security Council in the Greater Accra Region went ahead with its planned demolishing exercise at the site, bringing down a number of buildings.
The exercise was being undertaken as a result of encroachment on the state land by private owners.
It was also believed that the encroachment had, over the years, led to flooding in areas around the site such as Ashaiman, Tema and other adjoining communities.
The majority in parliament claims it is considering taking Alban Bagbin, speaker of the house, to the Supreme Court for his decision about Sarah Adwoa Safo, a member of parliament from Dome-Kwabenya.
The majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, called the decision “unfortunate” and suggested that the Speaker might have erred in his interpretation of the legislation.
“If we lend ourselves by what I consider to be a very capricious ruling, then the Supreme Court would be the final arbiter,” he added.
The issue whether the Dome Kwabenya MP should lose her seat for missing more than 15 sittings must be discussed by the entire House, according to Alban Bagbin’s ruling.
Her continuous absence from Parliament divided the House with the Majority interestingly taking the view that the Privileges Committee report should be final.
Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
“As I have noted in this ruling, the decision as to whether or not to admit a motion is the exclusive preserve of the Speaker. In view of the foregoing, the House is well within its rights to receive and consider the report of the Committee and make a determination arising out of the recommendation,” Mr Bagbin ruled.
But the Suame MP says the Speaker was wrong and they are determined to fight it before the debate.
“When they [Privileges Committee] have made that determination, it doesn’t come back to Parliament for Parliament to vote on it. So for the Speaker to come in with what I consider very unfortunate interpretation of the Constitution… this is a matter of the interpretation of the Constitution and it can go to the Supreme Court,” he added.
A day after the Speaker’s ruling, an NPP legislator commenced the process of filing a suit at the Supreme Court to have her seat declared vacant.
In documents cited by Myjoyonline.com, the MP is praying the Court that by failing to appear before the Privileges Committee to explain her absence from Parliament, Sarah Adwoa Safo ceases to be a Member of Parliament.
The Ahafo Ano North MP, Sulemana Adamu Sanid, is contesting the Speaker’s ruling.
“A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 97(1)(c) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, a member of Parliament who absents himself/herself, without permission in writing of the Speaker and he/she is unable to offer a reasonable explanation to the Parliamentary Committee on privileges, from fifteen sittings of a meeting of Parliament during any period that Parliament has been summoned to meet and continues to meet, automatically forfeits his/her membership of the Parliament of Ghana,” portions of the reliefs read.
Background
Before going on recess in July, Mr. Bagbin deferred his ruling on whether the Dome-Kwabenya seat should be declared vacant or not following Madam Safo’s failure to honour an invite by the Privileges Committee on her continuous absence from Parliament.
Mr. Bagbin, on May 4, referred Madam Safo, Mr. Henry Quartey, MP of Ayawaso Central, and Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, MP, Assin Central, to the Privileges Committee for absenting themselves from 15 sittings of the House without his permission.
That was during the First Session of the Eighth Parliament.
The Committee failed to achieve a consensus in its recommendations on whether absenting herself for more than the mandatory 15 days without permission warranted her seat being declared vacant.
Dome-Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo
The Majority, however, wants the seat declared vacant without delay in line with stated constitutional provisions.
It observed that Madam Safo failed to take advantage of the numerous opportunities to explain her absence without leave.
Meanwhile, the Majority of MPs on the Committee cited Article 97 (1) (c) of the 1992 Constitution and the Court of Appeal decision in the case of Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare v the Attorney-General & 3 Ors, in this regard.
The Minority MPs on the Committee, argued that according to the principle of natural justice, the seat should not be declared vacant because Madam Safo did not provide her side of the story to the Committee.
The Committee, however, determined that the explanation offered by her two colleagues, Mr. Agyepong and Mr. Quartey for absenting themselves, were reasonable.
A copy of the report made available to the Ghana News Agency before recess, showed that the Committee members gave a split decision on the fate of Madam Safo.
Barely a day after police commenced an investigation into a chieftaincy dispute in Enchi, video footage has emerged.
The CCTV clips detail how the suspected attackers besieged the palace on Sunday in the Western North Region.
That morning, four people were shot dead with one left in critical condition at Enchi Government Hospital.
According to the report, the incident was evoked when an unidentified group believed to be residents of the community attempted to attack their paramount chief of Enchi Traditional council, Beyeeman Tano Kwao Benbuin II at his palace on early Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Watch CCTV footage below:
However, the palace guards also avenged and there was an exchange of gunfire between the two parties.Four of the visitors were killed and one person was also injured.In the video obtained by Myjoyonline.com, about a dozen men are seen bullying their way through the streets of Enchi armed with guns, knives and other assault weapons.
Sources say the incidents recorded ensued moments before the violent attacks.
At a point, two of them stopped and fired shots into the air before proceeding toward the palace.
According to Adom News’ Augustine Boah, security has been strengthened in and around the palace today.
He however indicates that there is an uneasy calm despite the police presence.
The Ghana Police Service says an investigation is ongoing with crime scene experts deployed on site.
The police in a statement say reinforcement teams have been dispatched from the national headquarters in Accra and surrounding police regions to support the Western North Regional Police Command.
They also urged “the public, in this case, our revered chieftaincy institution which is the embodiment of our customs, traditions and values to use peaceful and due judicial process in resolving differences in order to avoid such needless deaths.”
Leadership of the three striking teacher unions will today, Monday, November 7, 2022, meet the Employment and Labour Ministry to continue deliberations over the appointment of Dr. Eric Nkansah as the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
The unions declared a strike on Friday, November 4, following their demand for the withdrawal of Dr. Nkansah’s appointment.
An earlier engagement with the Ministry ended inconclusively.
Speaking to Citi News, the President of one of the unions, the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu expressed disappointment at the Education Ministry for not addressing their concerns sooner.
“The invitation to even come and jaw-jaw was not from the Education Ministry. They were rather trying to banter us in the media through press conferences instead of sitting with us to discuss the issues. So we are on strike, expecting that our demands will be met at [today’s] meeting.”
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wereko-Brobby said he is optimistic that the concerns of the teachers will be addressed.
“This is a matter we can sit and discuss. So I am optimistic that nothing untoward will happen. The issues that they have raised will be looked at and will be resolved by Monday after we meet.”
The unions had requested time to seek the views of their members. They have argued in favour of a career teacher being made the GES boss.
The leaders of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) and the Colleges of Education Non-Teaching Staff Association of Ghana (CENTSAG) have expressed their displeasure over the government’s neglect of the welfare of their members in the 46 Colleges of Education over the years.
The associations in a joint statement accused the Government and the Ghana Education Service (GES) of unfair treatment over the years.
CETAG in January 2022 called off its weeks of strike action after the Government assured the association of taking stringent measures to resolve the non-implementation of its 2017-2020 conditions of service, but those resolutions are yet to be implemented 10 months on.
Leadership of the two associations in their statement have therefore given the Ghana Education Service (GES) five crucial working days to address the following outstanding concerns;
i) Non-finalisation of CETAG’s Conditions of Service (CoS) negotiations which started on 14th August 2021 and have direct implications for CENTSAG’s own CoS.
ii)Unilateral determination of April 2023 by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) as the effective date for placing First Degree Holders of CENTSAG on 17H on the SSSS.
iii) Undue delay by the Ministry of Education in responding to our request for payment of compensation for all-year-round work to both teaching and non-teaching staff.
iv) Deliberate variation of Fuel, Vehicle Maintenance, and Off-Campus allowances of CETAG and CENTSAG members as compared to our counterparts in other analogous institutions in the face of the rising cost of fuel prices in the country.
v) Unfair retrospective deductions of office holding allowances paid to some members of CENTSAG and CETAG.
The unions added that if these concerns are not resolved by November 11, 2022, “we shall reactivate our indefinite strike actions which we suspended on January 24 and April 14, 2022, respectively.”
Edwina Nana Addo, the daughter of Ghana’s first gentleman Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is making great strides in the entrepreneurial space and has built a grand restaurant which attracts some of the most affluent people in the country.
Edwina’s eatery is named NsuomNam, a fine Twi name which gives it a touch of Ghanaian heritage.
NsuomNam means fish from the water, and as the name suggests, the restaurant specializes in seafood and is said to be one of the best seafood restaurants in Accra per reviews on Google.
Since its opening, the restaurant has been met with criticism from Ghanaians as they felt $6 Million was too much money for a restaurant. Business, however, started booming for Edwina, although the restaurant was opened not long ago.
NsuomNam hosts some of the most affluent peeps in the country, and celebrities like Jackie Appiah, Nadia Buari, Majid Michael, and others have been spotted at the luxurious eatery. YEN.com.gh has compiled some photos and videos of the grand restaurant.
1, The entrance of the eatery is nothing you’ll expect less of a $6 Million restaurant. The beautiful white walls and its classy glass entrance screams luxury. At night the eatery looks even more beautiful with its beautiful lights, letting it stand out in the darkness of the night.
2. NsuomNam seems like the new house for the rich. A week ago, some of Ghana’s most affluent movie stars partied hard at the restaurant.
4. Edwina has good taste for decor, and NsumNam reflects her excellent taste as the restaurant treats its patrons with not just good food, it provides a serene environment.
5. Exquisite seafood is hard to find In Ghana, but NsuomNam looks like it is about to set itself apart from the current competition as the restaurant provides some of the most exclusive seafood menus.
NsuomNam is the most-talked-about Ghanaian-owned restaurant in Cantonments causing rifts on social media. According to most, NsuomNam is too expensive, looking at the posture of the owner, who is rumoured to be Edwina Nana Dokua Akufo-Addo, the president’s daughter.
NsuomNam is the restaurant commentator Kelvin Taylor accused the H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s daughter, Edwina, of using Ghanaians’ money to set up. Taylor also insinuated that the ordinary Ghanaian could not afford to dine at NsuomNam – but how true is this? Because the other fraction vehemently denies this claim.
The debate could go on forever, but food blogger, Zubaida, did the honours of visiting and leaving a review.
She wrote, “The food was nice. The starter especially was 10/10. Service was good, plus the owner, the manager & the chef are so nice. The average spend for a drink, starter, main & dessert is ¢400pp.”
Videos showed a hush, serene, classy restaurant with high ceilings and gorgeous stylish cane chairs. A quick look at the menu offered price ranges from Gh45.00 to Ghc120.00 for starters. The mains are placed just a little above this range unless you want their seafood, which is the restaurant’s speciality, starting from Ghc180.00 to Ghc600.00.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome Kwabenya Constituency, Sarah Adwoa Safo, is back in Ghana after close to a year in the United States of America.
She is back after staying away from her duties as a Member of Parliament for the period amidst criticisms from some colleague MPs and executives of the New Patriotic Party.
Sarah Adwoa Safo was spotted at a Presbyterian Church in her Constituency on Sunday November 6, 2022 where she was accompanied by some family and friends to thank God for his protection of her life.
Speaking to the Congregation, Adwoa Safo said she was grateful to God for protecting her life and that of her family stressing that “last year was a very challenging year”.
The Member of Parliament who doubled as Gender and Social Protection Minister was sacked by the President of Ghana after she failed to show up for her responsibilities.
Rumors were rife that she had left the country because she did not want the Gender, Children, and Social Protection Minister but rather wanted to remain the Deputy Majority leader in Parliament; a position which had been given to Alex Afenyo Markin.
Meanwhile, after referring her absence from Parliament to the privileges committee of Parliament, the Speaker of Parliament said he investigated their work and was not satisfied with it and has since referred it to the floor of Parliament for a decision to be taken.
Kwabena Agyepong who served as Press Secretary to former president John Agyekum Kufuor between 2001 and 2006 has said he declined a ministerial appointment offered to him by his boss after serving for almost six years.
The decision to not accept the appointment, according to Kwabena Agyepong was informed by the quest to exit from the administration and focus on some other equally important activities.
“It was fine,” he said in response to whether or not it was a peaceful exit. “I just felt I had to leave politics, so, although the president called me and offered me a deputy ministerial position, I respectfully declined.”
Sharing his work experience with the former president, Mr. Agyepong told Deloris Frimpong Manso on The Delay Show that his boss was indeed a diplomat.
“Mr. Kufuor is a very quintessential diplomat and democrat. He worked with the IGP the previous government appointed for over six months when he assumed office. Persons who occupied some of the key positions experienced same. He did so just to get a smooth transition,” the former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) remarked.
Meanwhile, Agyepong has said he never acquired any property during his tenure as Press Secretary to Mr. Kufuor.
Establishing that the desire to do politics was borne out of passion, selflessness, and service to the country, Agyepong expressed optimism in becoming president of Ghana as he readies to contest in the NPP presidential primaries.
“Our budget is always in deficit; we need to cut our coat according to the size of cloth we have. We need to be truthful to Ghanaians for instance if we cannot construct new roads and put together a proper plan review. We like constructing new things without providing any form of maintenance for the old ones.
“The value system in this country has disappeared, it has collapsed. Those are the changes I believe it is time for a new dawn, a new dimension, and a new direction,” Mr. Agyepong said while underscoring the need to serve instead of amassing wealth to the detriment of the Ghanaian people.
The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has expressed dissatisfaction with the unfair and unequitable distribution of medical doctors in the country, describing it as a discrimination against Northern Ghana.
Speaking at the 64th Annual General Conference of the GMA in Bolgatanga, Dr Frank Serebour, the National President, GMA, said the situation was having dire health consequences on the already deprived and underserved regions and posed threats to quality of healthcare delivery in those areas.
He stated for instance that the Upper East Region had a total of 89 medical doctors, out of which only 30 were currently at post due to further studies, depriving many vulnerable communities of quality healthcare.
“This number is equivalent to a single department in our teaching hospitals in Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye, and the numbers are not different from other deprived regions in the country”.
According to Dr Serebour, many healthcare facilities in Northern Ghana in particular, were being served by one doctor while some doctors had spent all their working lives in the South particularly in Accra and Kumasi.
He described the situation as an indictment on the management of the healthcare system in Ghana and underscored the need for an open and honest discussion to resolve the skewed distribution of doctors.
“Until there is a total transparency and fair play in transfers based on the needs of institutions, there will always be brave people who would refuse postings to deprived areas,” he lamented.
Apart from urging the government to design incentive package to attract and retain doctors in rural and deprived areas, Dr Serebour urged the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, particularly the District Assemblies to provide basic structures for doctors and other health workers.
This, he said, coupled with improved condition of service, would not only motivate doctors and other health workers to work in deprived communities but would help prevent the brain drain of doctors which was on the ascendancy.
“These packages may include well-furnished accommodation, top up salaries up to the tune of 50 per cent of their total salaries, full scholarships for further training, either within or outside the country after three years of continuous and dedicated service,” he added.
Mr Stephen Yakubu, Upper East Regional Minister, indicated that shortage of doctors especially in the Upper East Region was worrying to stakeholders and needed collective approach to resolving the issue.
He said over the years, doctors had refused postings to the region and the Regional Coordinating Council had tasked the Municipal and District Assemblies to identify and sponsor students to pursue medicine and bond them to work in the region.
He said the region was benefitting eight district hospitals under the government’s agenda 111 project and there was the need to attract and retain more doctors.
Mr Mahama Sei Seini, the Deputy Minister of Health, lauded the efforts of the GMA for the continuous contribution towards ensuring quality healthcare in the country.
He said as part of the government’s to achieve Universal Health Coverage, the Ministry had set up a committee on rural incentive package to attract health workers to rural areas and added that the committee had finished and submitted its report.
The conference was on the theme, “Doctor distribution dilemma: the case of Ghana and its underserved areas”.
Blood that has been grown in a laboratory has been put into people in a world-first clinical trial, UK researchers say.
Tiny amounts – equivalent to a couple of spoonfuls – are being tested to see how it performs inside the body.
The bulk of blood transfusions will always rely on people regularly rolling up their sleeve to donate.
But the ultimate goal is to manufacture vital, but ultra-rare, blood groups that are hard to get hold of.
These are necessary for people who depend on regular blood transfusions for conditions such as sickle cell anaemia.
If the blood is not a precise match then the body starts to reject it and the treatment fails. This level of tissue-matching goes beyond the well-known A, B, AB and O blood groups.
Prof Ashley Toye, from the University of Bristol, said some groups were “really, really rare” and there “might only be 10 people in the country” able to donate.
At the moment, there are only three units of the “Bombay” blood group – first identified in India – in stock across the whole of the UK.
Image source, NHSBT
Image caption,
A laboratory-grown red blood cell, which carriers oxygen and carbon dioxide around the body
So how is the blood grown?
The research project combines teams in Bristol, Cambridge, London and at NHS Blood and Transplant. It focuses on the red blood cells that carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
They start with a normal donation of a pint of blood (around 470ml)
Magnetic beads are used to fish out flexible stem cells that are capable of becoming a red blood cell
These stem cells are encouraged to grow in large numbers in the labs
And are then guided to become red blood cells
The process takes about three weeks and an initial pool of around half a million stem cells results in 50 billion red blood cells.
These are filtered down to get around 15 billion red blood cells that are at the right stage of development to transplant.
“We want to make as much blood as possible in the future, so the vision in my head is a room full of machines producing it continually from a normal blood donation,” Prof Toye told me.
Image source, NHSBT
The first two people have taken part in the trial, which aims to test the blood in at least 10 healthy volunteers. They will get two donations of 5-10mls at least four months apart – one of normal blood and one of lab-grown blood.
The blood has been tagged with a radioactive substance, often used in medical procedures, so scientists can see how long it lasts in the body.
It is hoped the lab-grown blood will be more potent than normal.
Red blood cells normally last for around 120 days before they need to be replaced. A typical blood donation contains a mix of young and old red blood cells, whereas the lab-grown blood is all freshly made so should last the full 120 days. The researchers suspect this could allow both smaller and less frequent donations in the future.
However, there are considerable financial and technological challenges.
The average blood donation costs the NHS around £130. Growing blood will cost vastly more, although the team will not say how much.
Another challenge is the harvested stem cells eventually exhaust themselves, which limits the amount of blood that be grown. It will take more research to produce the volumes that would be needed clinically.
Dr Farrukh Shah, the medical director of transfusion at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “This world-leading research lays the groundwork for the manufacture of red blood cells that can safely be used to transfuse people with disorders like sickle cell.
“The potential for this work to benefit hard to transfuse patients is very significant.”
Elon Musk says Twitter users engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying it as a parody account will be permanently suspended.
Twitter previously issued a warning before suspending accounts, but there would now be no warning, he announced in a series of tweets.
The company’s new owner laid off around half of the company’s workforce at the end of last week.
He also confirmed plans to allow users to buy blue-tick verified status.
Detailing the new policy on parody accounts, Mr Musk tweeted: “Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning.”
He added that “any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark”.
Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter
Several accounts that had changed their name to Elon Musk and mocked the billionaire have been suspended or placed behind a warning sign, including those of US comedian Kathy Griffin and former NFL player Chris Kluwe.
Other accounts, including one parodying former US President Donald Trump by comedian Tim Heidecker, are yet to be suspended.
Mr Musk has previously said he opposed permanent bans on Twitter, including that of Mr Trump’s official account. Mr Musk said last week that banned accounts would not be reinstated until there was “a clear process for doing so”.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Twitter was delaying the rollout of verification check marks to subscribers of its new service until after Tuesday’s US midterm elections. At the weekend, the social media site’s website app began offering an update that will charge $8 (£7) a month for its blue, verified checkmark.
On Friday, the billionaire said Twitter was losing more than $4m per day, insisting that this gave him “no choice” over culling around half the company’s 7,500-strong workforce.
The cuts – as well as Mr Musk’s fierce advocacy of free speech – have caused speculation that Twitter could water down its efforts on content moderation.
However, Mr Musk has insisted that the firm’s stance towards harmful material remains “absolutely unchanged”. UN human rights chief Volker Turk wrote him an open letter, warning that Twitter had a responsibility to avoid amplifying harmful content.
The fight against climate change can become “a global mission for new jobs and clean growth”, Rishi Sunak will tell world leaders at the COP27 summit.
The prime minister will also say it is essential nations stick to commitments made at COP26 in Glasgow a year ago.
The UN’s climate change chief said a key aim to limit global temperature rises is “still within reach”.
Mr Sunak is making his first outing on the international stage in Egypt after becoming UK PM last month.
He arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday night and will join other world leaders at the UN summit, including US President Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Sunak will unveil more than £200m funding to protect forests and for green technologies in developing nations.
He reversed a decision not to attend COP27 earlier this week after a backlash from opposition MPs and campaigners. He initially declined the invite as he said he was too busy preparing the November budget.
In his opening address on Monday, Mr Sunak will urge global leaders to “move further and faster” to avoid the worst impact of climate change by limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
He will say Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has “reinforced” the importance of ending dependence on fossil fuels, but will argue the move can give a boost to new green industries.
“The world came together in Glasgow with one last chance to create a plan that would limit global temperature rises to 1.5C. The question today is: can we summon the collective will to deliver on those promises?” he will say.
“By honouring the pledges we made in Glasgow, we can turn our struggle against climate change into a global mission for new jobs and clean growth. And we can bequeath our children a greener planet and a more prosperous future.”
Mr Sunak will also meet French President Mr Macron at the conference, where the topic of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats is likely to be raised. The prime minister has said reducing the number of crossings is a “key priority”.
Downing Street said Mr Sunak will announce a further £65.5m for the clean energy innovation facility which provides grants to researchers and scientists in developing countries working on clean technologies – from biomass-powered refrigeration in India to lithium-ion batteries in Nigeria.
It said the UK will also commit £90m for conservation in the Congo Basin rainforest, and £65m to support indigenous and local communities.
But Labour’s Ed Miliband said Mr Sunak “had to be dragged kicking and screaming” to go to the summit and it was “implausible for him to claim the mantle of climate leadership”.
The shadow climate change secretary said the government should drop plans to issue more licences for North Sea exploration and end its opposition to onshore wind.
As COP27 got under way, the UN itself warned that meeting the critical target of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C would take an “extraordinary effort”.
“The science tells us that is it still within reach,” said the UN’s new climate chief, Simon Stiell. “We cannot lift the pressure.”
Speaking to the BBC World Service’s Newshour programme, Mr Stiell said just 29 states had strengthened their climate pledges since last year, which was “not enough”.
His remarks came after the UN’s weather and climate body released a report showing that the rate at which sea levels are rising has doubled since 1993.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described the report as a “chronicle of climate chaos” and urged governments at COP27 to answer the planet’s “distress signal” with “ambitious, credible climate action”.
Image source, Rex Features
Image caption,
Vulnerable countries increasingly being hit by extreme storms, floods and droughts, such as Pakistan’s devastating flooding this year
Global temperatures have risen 1.1C and are heading towards 1.5C, according to the UN’s climate scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
If temperatures rise 1.7 to 1.8C above 1850s levels, the IPCC estimates that half the word’s population could be exposed to life-threatening heat and humidity.
Rich countries are also falling short in providing the finance needed to help developing nations adapt to a changing climate and develop cleanly, the UN has warned.
But Mr Stiell said the conference was off to a “hopeful start” after developing nations successfully lobbied to put on the agenda the thorny issue of “loss and damage”.
This debate revolves around compensation money paid by wealthy countries to the states worst affected by climate change.
Speaking to the BBC, David Panuelo, President of the Federated States of Micronesia, said bigger nations needed to “come good with their nationally-determined contributions”.
Highlighting China, India, Mexico, Indonesia and Brazil, Mr Panuelo said there are “many countries that need to come forward with… commitments to help meet this challenge that global communities are facing now”.
Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in Accra, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, confirmed to pressmen last week that Ghana will be sending a delegation of over 320 persons to the ongoing 27th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 27) in Egypt.
He explained that out of a total of 322 people attending, attendees are pooled from both state and non-state institutions having duly registered on the government’s portal to attend and participate in COP27.
Dr Afriyie, according to a Ghana News Agency, GNA; report explained that of the total, participants from government institutions account for 226, while those from non-state actors are 72 and those belonging to the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) are 24.
“Half of the number on the government platform are NGOs and partner institutions who decided to go through some institutions to be registered,” he clarified.
“Therefore, the actual government staff attending the COP is about 150…People attending this will be participating in diverse programming including negotiations, workshops, side events and bilateral meetings. Sponsorships is also form diverse sources,” he stressed.
2021 edition attracts public scrutiny
There was a huge public outcry when it emerged that Ghana sent over 330 delegates to the COP 26, which took place between 31st October and November 12, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland.
A provisional list published on the website of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change indicated that Ghana’s contingent was led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Some sector ministers who made the trip included Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation; Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister for Land and Natural Resources and Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Energy.
The list also includes representatives from Parliament, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of the President, the media, among others.
It was later explained that not all persons registered under Ghana traveled on state largess and that the presidential team was much smaller.
Akufo-Addo leads COP 27 delegation
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo arrived in Egypt on Sunday as leader of Ghana’s delegation of climate negotiators to COP 27.
COP 27, scheduled for November 7 to 18, is being hosted in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
It will provide the platform for climate activists and negotiators to discuss, propose actions and make decisions towards facilitating the implementation of the various Articles of the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact.
At a Pre-COP media briefing organised by Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in Accra, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, sector Minister, said Ghana’s team was ready to present the real needs of the African people at the conference.
“Ghana will participate actively at the negotiations, and the Presidency implementation summit and also host a number of events at the Ghana Pavilion.
“We will launch the Article six framework and sign some additional bilateral agreements with Sweden and Singapore. Other sectors will host events relating to their mandate, i.e., energy, forestry, transport, finance etc,” Dr Afriyie stated.
Private legal practitioner Samson Lardy Anyenini has challenged New Patriotic Party(NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) to name a businessman who allegedly tried inducing them with money.
According to him, the disclosure is the surest way to prove that the Members of Parliament indeed returned the money to the unnamed businessman and repelled him as they claim.
Member of Parliament(MP) for Asante-Akim North, Andy Appiah-Kubi first disclosed on Accra based Joy Fm that the said businessman came to Parliament to meet with NPP MPs who had publicly called on President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo to sack the finance minister Ken Ofori Atta.
The NPP MP added that the wealthy businessman sought to ‘mediate’ in the impasse between the MPs and the Finance Minister and attempted to give them money which they rejected.
But speaking on Newsfile on Joy News, on Saturday, November 5, 2022; the lawyer wondered why the lawmakers allowed such a businessman to walk away after committing a crime of attempted bribery.
He argued that the narration of the MPs raises doubts over whether they actually returned the money to the said businessman.
“So, there was an offer and there was received. This is a transaction that resulted in a crime. At what point did any of these MP’s realise that they needed to return these envelopes as they have been telling us?
“How should we come to a point of believing them that they in fact returned these envelopes? Did they? How many took it and how many returned it? What the MP’s have dealt with so far, leaves me in a position to believe that they are not being frank,” he said.
Anyenini further stated that the unwillingness by the lawmakers to blow the cover of the businessman attempting to corrupt them further cast doubts on their narration.
“Let us all dare them to name this businessman. If they do not, let us not believe them that they took the money and returned it. Indeed we are right that they [NPP MP’s] took the bribe and engaged in a corrupt conduct,” he added.
The United Nations has indicated its readiness to scale up support for Ghana under its newly-proposed Cooperation Framework.
Under a previously signed framework, a total of $440 million was expended in assisting the country towards achieving her developmental need.
However, in what he describes as “realignment,” the UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Charles Abani, revealed that the new framework (2022-2025) is expected to scale up assistance to over $500 million.
“This is a gross increase in the value that comes through the UN system into Ghana. The 261 (million) that we announced at the Global Citizens (festival) is the core part of that and that has been secured already.”
UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Charles Abani
“For the rest, we are in the motion of raising that fund, which backs my pledge that we stand ready to support,” Charles Abani told JoyNews.
In its report titled, ‘The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Sustainable Development in Africa’, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) noted that “Africa is facing a double crisis with the combined effects of the war in Ukraine and of the Covid-19 pandemic – now is a critical time for action.”
“It is time to intensify efforts and reframe development finance, strengthen resilience in African economies, and foster economic transformation as a key driver for change in Africa,” the report added.
Charles Abani [left] and Blessed Sogah
Commenting on the report, Charles Abani noted that the UN is collaborating with Ghanaian agencies to avert the impact of these exogenous factors hindering sustainable development.
“We need to ensure that we are investing in things that matter most. We should work more on strengthening Ghana’s institutions and the capacity of Ghanaians,” he stressed.
The United Nations is hopeful the government of Ghana will cooperate with its officials to successfully flesh out the cooperation framework.
Programmes Director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Dr Charles Nyaaba has expressed doubt that food prices will go down in December.
This is due to the challenges farmers are going through including high cost of doing business, he said.
Dr Nyaaba told TV3’s Roland Walker on the Big Issue, Friday November 4 that “depending on the commodities, food prices will not come down, it is going to be extremely difficult for prices to come.”
This comes at a time the Minister of Food and Agriculture Dr. Owusu Akoto Afriyie assured that the Ministry is introducing an initiative to sell food at cheaper prices in Accra.
Dr. Owusu Akoto Afriyie said at a meeting with farmers in Sefwi Wiaso in the Western North Region, that “the ministry itself is going to take its own initiative.”
He added “We are going to link up with the farm gate so that we make all the arrangements to ensure that we put up kiosks on our compounds at the ministry, specifically for food from Sefwi Wiaso and we are going to give it a lot of publicity.”
President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr. Humphrey Ayim-Darke says the source of hope for industry in the midst of the economic challenges is that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
He called on industry to rally behind the measures outlined by the President to tackle the economic difficulties in the country.
Speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday November 5, he said “Our case as an industry is, what are the remedies? It is necessary that at this stage we gather the courage as the president did and then from there, with what he has outlined as part of his proposed solutions, players in the space or actors in the various sectors of the economy should quickly rally around the said call and then develop modalities to circumvent the challenges.”
He added “What can we say are the source of hope? That there is light at the end of the tunnel, how quickly can we all come together and take charge and seek to rectify the destruction that has befallen us. This has been the position of AGI leadership.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-0Addo in his public address on Sunday October 30 said the success of the government’s efforts at diversifying the structure of the Ghanaian economy from an import-based one to a value-added exporting one is what will, in the long term, help strengthen our economy.
“We are making some progress with the 1D1F but our current situation requires that we take some more stringent measures to discourage the importation of goods that we can and do produce here.
“To this end, we will review the standards required for imports into the country, prioritise the imports, as well as review the management of our foreign exchange reserves, in relation to imports of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, tooth picks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, and others which, with intensified government support and that of the banking sector, can be manufactured and produced in sufficient quantities in Ghana. Government will, in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the situation. We must, as a matter of urgent national security, reduce our dependence on imported goods, and enhance our self-reliance, as demanded by our overarching goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid.
“Much as we believe in free trade, we must work to ensure that the majority of goods in our shops and market places are those we produce and grow here in Ghana. That is why we have to support our farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, and allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products, and guarantee a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens and the business community. Exports, not imports, must be our mantra! Accra, after all, hosts the headquarters of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area.”
He added “as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money. If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down.
“The recent turbulence on the financial markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange, and was made worse in the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators and the Black Market. An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had depreciated further. All of us can play a part in helping to strengthen the cedi by having confidence in the currency, and avoiding speculation. Let us keep our cedi as the good store of value it is. To those who make it a habit of publishing falsehoods, which result in panic in the system, I say to them that the relevant state agencies will act against such persons.
“Indeed, some steps have been taken to restore order in the forex markets and we are already beginning to see some calm returning. We will not relent until order is completely restored. The following actions have been taken thus far: 1) enhanced supervisory action by the Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally abide by the market rules. Already some forex bureaus have had their licenses revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in the sector;
“2) Fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market, and addressing the pipeline demand; 3) the Bank of Ghana has given its full commitment to the commercial banks to provide liquidity to ensure the wheels of the economy continue to run in a stabilized manner, till the IMF Programme kicks in and the financing assurances expected from other partners also come in;
” Government is working with the Bank of Ghana and the oil producing and mining companies to introduce a new legal and regulatory framework to ensure that all foreign exchange earned from operations in Ghana are, initially, paid to banks domiciled in Ghana to help boost the domestic foreign exchange market; and 5) the Bank of Ghana will enhance its gold purchase programme.”
President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr. Humphrey Ayim-Darke has told industries to be courageous and rally behind the measures outlined by the President to tackle the economic challenges.
He asked players in the industry to develop modalities to help circumvent the challenges.
Speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday November 5, he said “Our case as an industry is, what are the remedies? It is necessary that at this stage we gather the courage as the president did and then from there, with what he has outlined as part of his proposed solutions, players in the space or actors in the various sectors of the economy should quickly rally around the said call and then develop modalities to circumvent the challenges.”
He added “What can we say are the source of hope? That there is light at the end of the tunnel, how quickly can we all come together and take charge and seek to rectify the destruction that has befallen us. This has been the position of AGI leadership.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-0Addo in his public address on Sunday October 30 said the success of the government’s efforts at diversifying the structure of the Ghanaian economy from an import-based one to a value-added exporting one is what will, in the long term, help strengthen our economy.
“We are making some progress with the 1D1F but our current situation requires that we take some more stringent measures to discourage the importation of goods that we can and do produce here.
“To this end, we will review the standards required for imports into the country, prioritise the imports, as well as review the management of our foreign exchange reserves, in relation to imports of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, tooth picks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, and others which, with intensified government support and that of the banking sector, can be manufactured and produced in sufficient quantities in Ghana. Government will, in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the situation. We must, as a matter of urgent national security, reduce our dependence on imported goods, and enhance our self-reliance, as demanded by our overarching goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid.
“Much as we believe in free trade, we must work to ensure that the majority of goods in our shops and market places are those we produce and grow here in Ghana. That is why we have to support our farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, and allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products, and guarantee a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens and the business community. Exports, not imports, must be our mantra! Accra, after all, hosts the headquarters of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area.”
He added “as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money. If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down.
“The recent turbulence on the financial markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange, and was made worse in the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators and the Black Market. An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had depreciated further. All of us can play a part in helping to strengthen the cedi by having confidence in the currency, and avoiding speculation. Let us keep our cedi as the good store of value it is. To those who make it a habit of publishing falsehoods, which result in panic in the system, I say to them that the relevant state agencies will act against such persons.
“Indeed, some steps have been taken to restore order in the forex markets and we are already beginning to see some calm returning. We will not relent until order is completely restored. The following actions have been taken thus far: 1) enhanced supervisory action by the Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally abide by the market rules. Already some forex bureaus have had their licenses revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in the sector;
“2) Fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market, and addressing the pipeline demand; 3) the Bank of Ghana has given its full commitment to the commercial banks to provide liquidity to ensure the wheels of the economy continue to run in a stabilized manner, till the IMF Programme kicks in and the financing assurances expected from other partners also come in;
” Government is working with the Bank of Ghana and the oil producing and mining companies to introduce a new legal and regulatory framework to ensure that all foreign exchange earned from operations in Ghana are, initially, paid to banks domiciled in Ghana to help boost the domestic foreign exchange market; and 5) the Bank of Ghana will enhance its gold purchase programme.”
Former President John Dramani Mahama has observed that Ghana’s economy has lurched from crisis to crisis.
In a Facebook post, the former President said the crisis has ultimately resulted in the most debilitating living conditions in several decades.
He added that within a space of ten months, our currency, the Ghana Cedi, has depreciated by over 62% against the US dollar.
“In the last few years, our economy has lurched from crisis to crisis, ultimately resulting in the most debilitating living conditions in several decades. Within a space of ten months, our currency, the Ghana Cedi, has depreciated by over 62% against the US dollar, which is the highest in recent memory,” Mahama posted on Facebook today 4th November 2022.
This statement comes after the Former President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, October 27, 2022, addressed the nation.
Speaking at the UPSA Auditorium, Mahama touched on the current economic hardships sweeping across the land, high inflation rates and the depreciation of the cedi.
Mr. Mahama urged government to cut down on expenditure by reducing the number of appointees and ministers.
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He also advised government to abolish or realign state institutions with similar functions while suspending non-essential projects.
The 2020 flagbearer of the NDC also backed calls for the dismissal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta from office; adding that his removal will not affect the ongoing negotiations between Ghana and the IMF.
“Our public debt is projected to hover around GH¢ 522 billion by close of this year, with a corresponding debt to GDP ratio of above100%. The debt service obligation arising from this, is monstrous and, is making it impossible to finance almost all critical sectors of the economy.”
“The wage bill has gone up due to unbridled recruitment into all sectors of the public service resulting from a poor capacity of the private sector to mop-up the teeming youth graduating from all levels of our educational system.”
“Worse still, Ghana has been classified as the country with the highest likelihood of debt default, which reflects the multiple downgrades by the international credit agencies. As it stands, we remain firmly shut out of the international bond market,” excerpts of Mahama’s speech said.
Aspiring general secretary of the NDC, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, has called for a united front among all people of diverse ethnic groups to help promote the unity of purpose for Ghana’s development.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Hogbetsotso Festival of the Anlo state, the current Elections Director of the NDC said, “while the quest for political power is critical in spearheading development, the gracing of the Hogbetsotsoza by the Asantehene, Outhmfuo Osei Tutu II, following the special invitation by Awomefia Togbe Sri signifies a longstanding effort to bring all cultures in Ghana together.”
Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah also took time to interact with former President John Dramani Mahama, leading chiefs in the Volta region, leaders of the NDC across all levels of the party, opinion leaders, elders, members and sympathisers of the party to assure them of his commitment towards a united party in the National Delegates Congress in December.
Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah has declared his intention to vie for the General Secretary position because he believes “Ghana is at the crossroads having been led by the incompetent leadership of Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo and vice president Mahamudu Bawumiah” who heads the economic management team.
Elvis Afriyeh Ankrah, insists, “following the comprehensive development undertaken by the John Mahama-led administration, it has become imperative for the NDC to be elected in the 2024 elections to give hope to the ordinary Ghanaian and restore the dwindling economy” back on track.
The Hogbetsotso has become one of the most prominent festivals in Ghana which seeks to rally all Ewes across the country and unify other Ghanaians of other ethnic groups towards the development of the country.
National Executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has engaged Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of state institutions in the renewed efforts to bridge the gap between government appointees and the party.
Dubbed ‘Time with the CEOs, the event offered the national executives the opportunity to interact with the CEOs and present expected future challenges and how to address them as the party gears for the 2024 elections.
Addressing the CEOs in his welcome address in Accra, the National Treasurer, Charles Dwamena aka Dr. China asserted that empirical evidence from recent general elections indicate the NPP is the party in majority in Ghana.
Explaining his assertion, Dr. China noted that in 2008 the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the election with less than 51% of the votes.
He stressed that in 2012, the NDC again won the elections but with less than 51% of the vote.
He said, “In 2016, the NPP won but with more than 51% and in 2022, the NPP won again with more than 51%.”
“This tells the story that the NPP as a party is in the majority.”
Dr. China argued if indeed that is the case, going into the 2024 elections, no matter the turbulence being experienced in the NPP currently, the party can still win the elections if it is put in the right shape.
He said, “If we are able to reach out to our party members and make sure that we are united and present a common front, we will be able to go beyond 2024 and break the eight.”
“And that starts today with your ideas; and that starts today with the experiences that we will be sharing together so that the team of national executives will be supported in whatever we will embark upon.”
“Together we will be able to break the eight,” he added.
Sir William Robert Wolseley Winniett was a governor in the Gold Coast but worked tirelessly to end the trade of slaves.
Serving under the Governor of Sierra Leone, Winniett became the lieutenant governor of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) on October 24, 1845.
Determined to abolish the Slave Trade, he went to the capital of Abomey (current Benin) in 1847 after the Slave Trade Act outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire in 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 outlawed slavery altogether.
According to details available online, in 1848, Sir William Winniett led the West India Regiments and others to stop the murdering of Africans and Europeans by deposing Kaku Aka, the king of Amanahia (Apollonia).
That same year, with his secretary, Thomas Birch Freeman, he went to the Kingdom of Ashanti to persuade Ghezo, the King of Dahomey, also known as King Kwaku Dua, to stop the slave trade and abolish human sacrifice.
Details by Wikipedia show that at the time, the king was in the business of exporting 8,000 slaves a year.
He also purchased Dutch fortresses on the Slave Coast to end the Dutch slave trade.
On June 29, 1849, Sir. Winniett was knighted by Queen Victoria at the Buckingham Palace.
He died on December 4, 1850, at Jamestown/Usshertown, Accra and was interred in the cemetery at Fort Christiansborg (Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu).
Legal Practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has outlined some of the measures the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, needs to take should President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and his vice Mahamudu Bawumia resign.
According to him, one of the major steps he needs to take is to cushion the Ghanaian economy.
He said the speaker must ensure that taxes, prices of fuel, and basic commodities come down as soon as he assumes office.
“We are saying that when the Speaker of parliament assumes office as president after the resignation of Akufo-Addo and Bawumia, he must take steps to cushion the Ghanaian economy. Times are hard, fuel has gone, everybody is suffering. So, once we are all suffering when the Speaker takes over office, he must roll out plans to reduce some of the taxes, take and find other innovative means to make sure prices of basic commodities and petrol come down.”
The legal practitioner added, “The Speaker must also make sure the cedi is strengthened because as we are all aware the cedi is the worse currency in the world. Once we have gathered here and we are expressed our disgust at the obscene thievery, conflict of interest it means that Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and Akufo-Addo must go.”
Martin Kpebu made the comments at the ‘Kume Preko Reloaded’ demonstration which was held yesterday, November 5, 2022. The protest started from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and ended at Black Stars Square in Accra.
Some Ghanaians showed up in their numbers to demonstrate in demand for better living conditions and also called for the resignation of Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and Ken Ofori-Atta.
The organizers noted that this is to send a “strong message” to the government to act in order to relieve Ghanaians of the challenges they currently face.
They also called for the resignation of the leadership of the country.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has assured Ghanaians that the Akufo-Addo administration will tackle the economic challenges facing them.
He told Ghanaians that the challenges are also being felt in most countries around the world, not only Ghana
In a remark at the Hogbestosto Festival at Anlo in the Volta Region on Saturday November 5, he said “we all know we are facing global economic crisis which Togbe Sri III referred to.
“This is a crisis that is being felt all over the world and the cost of living accelerated across the globe.
“If you look at the cost of living as measured by the rate of inflation, between 2019 and now, the rate of inflation has increased by five-fold in Ghana, it has increased by sixteen-fold in Togo, it has increased by eleven-fold in Senegal, it has increased by seven-fold in Cote D’Ivoire and eight-fold in the United Kingdom.
“The increase in the cost of living has caused hardships not only in Ghana but many countries.
“In fact, the BBC noted about two weeks ago that so far, this year, in 93 countries we have had public protests against the increased cost of living. It is important to know however that amidst all of this turmoil we should put things in perspectives.”
He added “The government of Nana Akufo-Addo has over the last six years taken many steps to reposition and transform the economy.
“So whiles we have hardships today, which we are working very hard to alleviate, and In sha’Allah we will deal with it, let us not forget what we have been able to do in the last six years.
“Let me recall that our government in the last six years has created more jobs than any other government in the Fourth Republic, let me recall that we have constructed more roads than any other government in the Fourth Republic, Let me recall that we have built more interchanges than any other government in the Fourth Republic, we have built more airports than any other government in the Fourth Republic, more railways than any other government , we have built more classrooms than any other government in the Fourth Republic.”
The Anlo Traditional Council in the Volta Region has charged the government to scale-up efforts to protect coastal towns, especially Keta, and its environs from being washed away by the sea.
According to them, the move will reduce the growing destruction caused by tidal waves in the area.
The spokesperson for the Council, Togbe Agbetadua Kumassah, made the request in an interview with Adom News during the 60th annual Hogbetsotso celebration.
Hogbetsotso is one of the indigenous festivals in Ghana. It is celebrated by the Anlo people to commemorate the escape from Notsie in Togo to their present abode in the Volta Region of Ghana, between the fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries
He also called on government to consider developing the roads and completing the abandoned One District One Factory (1D1F) project to create jobs for the youth in the area.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumaia has indicated that the Akufo-Addo administration has over the past six years in office built more schools, roads, airports, interchanges than any other government in the Fourth Republic.
He has appealed to Ghanaians to recollect these achievements of the government in the midst of the economic turmoil they are saddled with currently.
Dr Bawumia indicated that the hardships are being felt globally, not only in Ghana.
In a remark at the Hogbestosto Festival at Anlo in the Volta Region on Saturday November 5, he said “we all know we are facing global economic crisis which Togbe Sri III referred to. This is a crisis that is being felt all over the world and the cost of living accelerated across the globe.
“If you look at the cost of living as measured by the rate of inflation, between 2019 and now, the rate of inflation has increased by five-fold in Ghana, it has increased by sixteen-fold in Togo, it has increased by eleven-fold in Senegal, it has increased by seven-fold in Cote D’Ivoire and eight-fold in the United Kingdom.
“The increase in the cost of living has caused hardships not only in Ghana but many countries. In fact, the BBC noted about two weeks ago that so far, this year, in 93 countries we have had public protests against the increased cost of living. It is important to know however that amidst all of this turmoil we should put things in perspectives.
He added “The government of Nana Akufo-Addo has over the last six years taken many steps to reposition and transform the economy . So whiles we have hardships today which we are working very hard to alleviate, and Insah Allah, we will deal with it, let us not forget what we have been able to do in the last six years.
“Let me recall that our government in the last six years has created more jobs than any other government in the Fourth Republic, let me recall that we have constructed more roads than any other government in the Fourth Republic, Let me recall that we have built more interchanges than any other government in the Fourth Republic, we have built more airports than any other government in the Fourth Republic, more railways than any other government , we have built more classrooms than any other government in the Fourth Republic.”
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said, in the last six years, the Akufo-Addo administration has created more jobs than any other government in the Fourth Republic.
It is not only job creation but also, the government has built mores schools, interchanges, airport than any other government in the Fourth Republic, he said.
In a remark at the Hogbestosto Festival at Anlo in the Volta Region on Saturday November 5, he said “we all know we are facing global economic crisis which Togbe Sri III referred to.
“This is a crisis that is being felt all over the world and the cost of living accelerated across the globe.
“If you look at the cost of living as measured by the rate of inflation, between 2019 and now, the rate of inflation has increased by five-fold in Ghana, it has increased by sixteen-fold in Togo, it has increased by eleven-fold in Senegal, it has increased by seven-fold in Cote D’Ivoire and eight-fold in the United Kingdom.
“The increase in the cost of living has caused hardships not only in Ghana but many countries.
“In fact, the BBC noted about two weeks ago that so far, this year, in 93 countries we have had public protests against the increased cost of living. It is important to know however that amidst all of this turmoil we should put things in perspectives.”
He added “The government of Nana Akufo-Addo has over the last six years taken many steps to reposition and transform the economy.
“So whiles we have hardships today, which we are working very hard to alleviate, and In sha’Allah we will deal with it, let us not forget what we have been able to do in the last six years.
“Let me recall that our government in the last six years has created more jobs than any other government in the Fourth Republic, let me recall that we have constructed more roads than any other government in the Fourth Republic, Let me recall that we have built more interchanges than any other government in the Fourth Republic, we have built more airports than any other government in the Fourth Republic, more railways than any other government , we have built more classrooms than any other government in the Fourth Republic.”
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia Saturday received a rousing welcome at the Hogbetsotso Festival of the Anlo State in the Volta Region.
The enthusiastic crowd chanted New Patriotic Party (NPP) songs to welcome the Vice President and his entourage to the 2022 festival, which marks the 60th anniversary of the Hogbetsotsoza.
This year’s celebration is on the theme: “60 years of Anlo Hogbetsotso Za: Uniting for development, sustaining our unique cultural commonwealth for future generations”.
Also present at the festival were the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Ga King, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II.
Other chiefs and personalities from the Volta Region and diasporans also graced the historic ceremony.
The Vice President called for togetherness for rapid socio-economic development.
Hogbetsotso is celebrated in November at Anloga, which is the traditional and ritual capital of the Anlo State.
The Festival unfolds Ewe history and brings to play the memories of legendary exodus and heroic acts of men of boldness and their mystical powers that liberated the Ewe-Dogbo people from the rule of tyrant King of Kings-Torgbui Agokorli of Nortsie in Togo.
Hence, Hogbetsotso is derived from the word ‘Hogbe’ or ‘Hohogbe’-the day of exodus – the moment in time when the Ewes in the Dogbo quarter of the walled city of Nortsie in Togo, escaped from the tyrannical ruler Agorkorli by walking backwards.
In order to commemorate the exodus and the bravery of their traditional rulers who led them on the journey, the people commemorate the annual festival of the Exodus – “Hogbetsotsoza”.
Thirty-six states from the Anlo Traditional Area are participating in this year’s celebration.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, says it is wrong to measure the government’s performance only by the current post-COVID-19 economic difficulties.
He said the country’s economic outlook before the onset of the pandemic was positive; thus the reason the government continued to attribute the current crises to factors emanating from the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Judging government by the development in the global space and not including the performance of the economy when we assumed office in 2017 to 2020 is an anti-climax. And we all know that period gave us a strong economy.”
Dr. Bawumia said this in an address at the 60th Anniversary celebration of Hogbetsotsoza at the Anloga park.
History was made when Otumfuo Osei-Tutu II, the Asantehene, and his entourage of chiefs, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse and his retinue of chiefs and Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, the Kwahuhene’s delegation participated in the event.
He said the government had chalked many successes across all sectors, including school infrastructure, railways, fish landing sites, interoperability, restored teachers and nurses allowances as well as many transformational policies and programmes.
He said these successes were unequal to successive governments’ performance on all fronts.
Dr. Bawumia said the government was working assiduously to stem the high food and fuel prices and urged Ghanaians to be patient.
He identified with the strong cultural heritage of the Anlo people, which is a panacea for the development of the creative industry, an enabler, and a driver for sustainable national development.
He said Keta and Anloga continued to harness a chunk of the tourism traffic and urged the residents to maintain the peace at all times.
Togbi Sri III, the Awoamefia of Anlo, said COVID-19 denied them the organization and celebration of the festival for two years, the same way its effects were wreaking havoc on the economy.
He said the Russia-Ukraine war had added another dimension to the crisis with escalating fuel hikes, food shortages, and high inflation.
He appealed to the people to remain patient with the government for a permanent solution to the difficulties.
The Awoamefia bemoaned the increasing exodus of professionals from the Anlo enclave compared to their collective support for the development of the area.
He said the time had come for them to redirect their efforts at building a solid Anlo state to serve as motivation for the young ones.
Asantehene Otumfuo Osei-Tutu II said his forefathers and the Anlos forged a military pact, which he wanted to practicalize through development to benefit the two kingdoms on a win-win situation.
He said he had been yearning for an occasion like this to demonstrate to the whole world that Asantes and Anlos were inseparable and could only work to better the fortunes available to them.
He said it was time to maximize the human resources of the two kingdoms and improve the productivity and creativity of their people.
Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, the Kwahuhene, said he agreed to particiate in the festival to forge stronger ties due to the mindset of the people towards work and peacebuilding.
King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse, who presided, appealed to the Anlos to unite and forge a common front for development to thrive, adding close ranks and not allowing politicians to divide them.
The festival also known as Hogbeza, commemorates the legendary exodus of the Ewe-Dogbo folks from Notsie in present-day neighboring Togo.
The festival was held this year after its suspension in 2020 and 2021 in compliance with COVID-19 protocols and was attended by people from far and near, diplomats, politicians, and the clergy.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will lead Ghana’s delegation of climate negotiators to this year’s 27th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP27) in Egypt.
COP27, scheduled for 7 to 18 November, would be hosted in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh and will provide the platform for climate activists and negotiators to discuss, propose actions and make decisions towards facilitating the implementation of the various Articles of the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact.
At a pre-COP media briefing organised by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in Accra, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, the sector minister, said Ghana’s team was ready to present the real needs of the African people at the conference.
“Ghana will participate actively at the negotiations, and the Presidency implementation summit and also host a number of events at the Ghana Pavilion.
“We will launch the Article six framework and sign some additional bilateral agreements with Sweden and Singapore. Other sectors will host events relating to their mandate, i.e., energy, forestry, transport, finance etc,” Dr Afriyie said.
He said Ghana, which host the Presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), would also demand as a moral right, funds from the developed world to address issues of loss and damage being experienced by Africa due to greenhouse emissions from the big polluters.
He argued that Africa, which continues to feel the highest impact of the climate change phenomenon but contributes just less than 5% of such emissions needed to be helped to mitigate and adapt to such impacts.
The minister said the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change report released in February this year, projected the likelihood of some 118 million vulnerable people in Africa being affected by the impact of climate change by the year 2030 if nothing is done to curb climate issues.
“With regard to loss and damage, Ghana recognises the impact of loss and damage on women, youth, children and other vulnerable groups and calls for the integration of these groups.
“Finance for loss and damage is key…We expect delivery of new climate finance under the New Collective Quantifies Goal on climate Finance… We will follow up with our CVF colleagues and push to ensure that is achieved.”
Meanwhile, altogether, 322 Ghanaian activists from both state and non-state institutions have registered on the government’s portal to attend and participate in COP27.
Dr Afriyie explained that of the total, participants from government institutions account for 226, while those from non-state actors are 72 and those belonging to the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) 24.
“Half of the number on the government platform are NGOs and partner institutions who decided to go through some institutions to be registered.
“Therefore, the actual government staff attending the COP is about 150…People attending this will be participating in diverse programming including negotiations, workshops, side events and bilateral meetings. Sponsorships are also from diverse sources.”
The Cedi recovered strongly against the dollar, appreciating to 13 from 14.05 at last week’s close after President Nana Akufo-Addo said bondholders won’t suffer losses as part of any IMF bailout.
The recovery was aided by a Bank of Ghana clampdown on illegal FX traders. Dollar demand remains heavy ahead of the Christmas period as importers seek to pay for goods in time for the festive shopping season. We expect the currency’s recovery to be short-lived, with rising inflation and high debt levels driving the Cedi back to the 14 levels in the near term.
Twin priorities for Africa leaders at COP27
With Africa contributing only around 3% of global emissions but devastated by extreme weather, such as recent floods displacing millions and destroying farmland across west Africa, the continent’s leaders have two core objectives at the UN’s COP27 climate conference next week.
The first is that developed nations should pay reparations for the impact that climate change is having on Africa, with the funds used to build infrastructure that will be more resilient against extreme weather and support transition to renewable energy.
The second objective is to strike a balance between calls for a global halt to new fossil fuel projects and the priorities of economic development in Africa and the need for new sources of oil and gas to address energy shortages in Europe. Progress on either of these broad objectives could provide relief for Africa’s economies and currencies.
Naira tumbles to new low as CBN to void high-value notes
The Naira plunged to a new low against the dollar on the unofficial market, trading at 850 from 772 at last week’s close. Nigerians rushed to buy dollars after the central bank said it plans to redesign high value Naira notes by mid-December and void any old notes still in circulation by the end of January next year.
The spread between the official and unofficial rates is now more than 88%, the largest ever gap, according to Bloomberg. The note redesign is intended to mop up excess funds, reduce counterfeit notes and hamper ransom payments from terrorists and kidnappers.
The central bank has expressed concern about the amount of currency in circulation outside of the banking system, reducing the efficacy of its policy levers. With dollar demand continuing to outpace supply, and with no more central bank support in the parallel market, we expect the Naira to lose further ground in the near term.
Rand loses ground on Fed hike
The Rand weakened against the dollar, trading at 18.27 from 18.12 at last week’s close after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another 75 basis points to its highest level in 14 years.
The Rand had been trading even lower at the start of the week, briefly touching 18.40, before recovering slightly amid renewed optimism about China’s economic outlook. Domestic concerns also continue to pile pressure on the local unit, such as ongoing power cuts and uneven taxation (with about 4% of the population being responsible for 84% of the country’s tax receipts).
We expect the Rand to continue trading in the 18s in the week ahead, though it is unlikely to weaken beyond 18.50.
Egypt Pounds plunges to record on flexible FX move
The Pound depreciated sharply against the dollar, hitting a fresh record low of 24.15 from 19.67 at last week’s close after the country signalled it was moving to a flexible exchange rate as part of the $3bn IMF loan deal agreed last Thursday.
The Pound’s weakening is likely to fuel inflation, which hit a four-year high of 15% in September. Egypt’s economy has been struggling from the twin effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and commodity price shocks caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
That has sparked a foreign investor exodus that is putting more pressure on the Pound, which we expect to sink further in the weeks ahead as the currency floats more freely and adjusts to market based levels.
Kenyan Shilling at new low set for further losses
The Shilling declined to a fresh record low, trading at 121.35/121.55 from 121.15/121.35 at last week’s close amid the familiar trend of elevated dollar demand from energy and manufacturing businesses that is outpacing supply.
The central bank continued to support the currency using its dollar reserves, preventing a larger slide. FX reserves fell to just under $7.3bn from slightly above a week earlier.
We expect the Shilling to weaken further in the week ahead as the US Federal Reserve’s 75 basis point hike this week strengthens the dollar.
Ugandan Shilling to weaken on debt concerns
The Shilling strengthened against the dollar, trading at 3770 from 3808 at last week’s close. Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu said Uganda plans to start pumping its oil reserves in 2025, with the country likely to court Chinese investment to finance the East African pipeline project.
Meanwhile, African health officials said the Ebola outbreak is under control due to successful contact-tracing efforts. The World Health Organization upped its Ebola risk assessment for the country and the wider region as infections reached the capital Kampala. The currency’s stronger showing may be short-lived.
We expect concerns about Ugandan debt levels will cause the Shilling to depreciate in the coming days.
Shilling stable as Tanzania President visits China
The Shilling was broadly unchanged against the dollar, trading at 2332 from 2331 at last week’s close. Petrol prices dropped for a third month in a row at the start of November, supported by the government’s TZS200bn fuel subsidy.
While that handout is protecting Tanzanians from inflationary strains, there are concerns about the sustainability of the subsidy and the potential long-term effects it could have on the economy. President Samia Suluhu Hassan is visiting China this week as Tanzania seeks to drum up investment for the East African oil pipeline that will pump crude from Uganda through to Tanzania’s Tanga port. We expect the Shilling to be more volatile against the dollar in the days ahead following the US Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike.
Cassiel Ato Forson, Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Essiam Constituency in the Central Region has alleged that government went on a borrowing spree in the lead up to the 2020 polls.
At Forson, who is the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee said a total of 67 billion cedis was borrowed, which amount the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government splurged on campaigning.
He said, the amount was also shared among members of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, like kelewele – a local snack made of fried chopped plantain with pepper usually accompanied with groundnuts.
“Because of the elections, they decided to borrow 67 billion Ghana cedis, and shared the money to their party supporters. They shared Ghana’s money like kelewele,” Ato Forson claimed in an interview with pro-National Democratic Congress channel, Woezor TV.
The NPP government has serially been accused of overborrowing and reckless spending leading Ghana into financial difficulties.
The government insists that the twin effects of the COVID-19 aftermath and the Russia-Ukraine war are to blame for the headwinds and that measures are being put in place to rectify the challenge.
Ghana is hoping for an International Monetary Fund, IMF, programme to help stabilize the economy amid fears that it could collapse sooner or later.
President Akufo-Addo in late October delivered an address on the economy, admitting that Ghana was in a crisis, whiles outlining measures being undertaken to reverse the tide and put the economy on a path of growth and prosperity.
Media Personality-cum-Private Legal Practitioner Samson Lardy Anyenini has described a decision by Members of Parliament (MPs) on the majority side not to give out the name of a businessman they claim attempted to bribe them as an act of cowardice.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) members of parliament say they were approached with a monetary offer by a wealthy businessman to get them to stand down on their calls to President Nana Akufo-Addo to sack Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Deputy Minister for Finance Charles Adu Boahen.
In his assertion, Samson Lardy noted that the NPP MPs would have named the businessman whom he noted engaged in a crime if he was a known member of the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC).
“What exactly are they [NPP MPs] afraid of? They cannot be scared of naming this businessman. Just imagine that this businessman was on the political divide on the other side. Would these MPs have told us about a businessman who brought bribes to them without naming him? They are teaching the very wrong things to our community,” he said on Newsfile monitored by MyNewsGh.com.
While challenging the majority members of parliament to proceed to put out the name of the said businessman as proof of their sanctity in the corruption allegation, he called them out as cowards instead of the Honourable men they are meant to be.
“If you men want us to continue to refer to you as honourable men of that parliament, please name the businessman to start with or say no more about this situation. Until they name this businessman, these [MPs] are no honourable people. These are cowards who must be told exactly who they are,” Samson added.
National Youth Organiser of governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Salam Mustapha says the widespread disaffection by Ghanaians against government in the wake of heightened economic difficulties is evidence that Ghanaians hold the governing party to high standard as compared to the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC).
Following recent unprecedented hikes in prices of fuel, transportation, food and general cost of living, Ghanaians have expressed displeasure and angst at government as political watchers say the prevailing economic conundrum narrows the chances of the NPP to win the next election.
There have been reports of booing at both the President and Vice President at public functions as a demonstration of disapproval of the management of the economy.
But reacting to the recent booing incidents and general expression of frustration and displeasure amongst Ghanaians, the National Youth Organiser of the ruling party said Ghanaians hold the NPP in high esteem and expect more of the party as compared to the opposition NDC, a reason there is widespread uproar amidst the current economic challenges.
Speaking in an interview on A1 Radio in Bolgatanga monitored by MyNewsGh.com, he argued that Ghana’s economy was growing significantly until the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia and post-COVID-19 challenges.
“It [booing] gives me a different impression. I think the Ghanaian people have higher expectations of the NPP. They believe that we are more capable and they hold us higher than the NDC. If they [Ghanaians] feel that we are letting them down of a sort, it is natural to protest,” he said.
He described the acts of booing at government officials by some citizens as politically contrived acts perpetrated by elements of the opposition National Democratic Congress.
Former President John Mahama has paid tribute to the late high-life musician, AB Crentsil, at his pre-burial service at Tema Community 8.
Speaking at the funeral, he commiserated with the family and stakeholders of the music industry for the loss of their illustrious son.
Mr. Mahama called him a “great icon of Ghanaian music.”
“Today, our friend and brother AB doesn’t need anything else from us. Just prayers that God will open paradise for him.”
Other dignitaries within the political space who attended the funeral included the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan John Kyerematen and former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah and a host of others from the entertainment circles.
AB Crentsil passed away on 13th July 2022, at the age of 79.
His remains will be taken to his hometown in Saltpond for interment.
AB Crentsil is known for songs such as ‘Moses’, ‘Atia’, ‘Angelina’, ‘Papa Samo’, ‘Yewo Adze Oye’, among others.
The Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, believes the government’s talk of haircuts on investments as part of debt restructuring was premature.
“You have not started the negotiations, then you pre-empt yourself in the negotiations by making a statement that there is not going to be a haircut. You have shot yourself in the foot,” he said on The Big Issue on Citi TV.
After the president’s assurances of no haircuts with respect to money invested in bonds during a speech last week, the government clarified that the restructuring was yet to be finalised.
The President said the statement was in response to rumours and speculation.
The restructuring talks are ongoing as part of Ghana’s efforts to secure an IMF deal for $3 billion.
In the wake of the speech, Mr. Rickets-Hagan said this was further evidence that the Akufo-Addo administration does not understand the government it is running.
He felt there was no need for the government to be paying attention to speculation at this point.
Mr. Rickets-Hagan added that the speculation was only a consequence of the poor management of the economy.
“They are behind the economy, they are running it. You shouldn’t be worried too much at this stage about speculation.”
“Speculation is going to happen when there is uncertainty. Speculation happens when people don’t have confidence in your economy; when your policies are no longer credible,” the MP said.
Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, has warned of a possible “third problem” that can worsen the country’s economy despite the dire effect of the Russia-Ukraine war which the government has identified as a prime cause of Ghana’s economic crisis.
Mr Oppong-Nkrumah expressed his disappointment in the Ghanaian media over the lack of attention on China’s possible takeover of Taiwan which is a matter of concern to other countries.
Instead, there are calls for the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to accept the blame and apologize to Ghanaians for the economic crisis under his government.
Key personalities in the country including Broadcaster Nana Aba Anamoah called on Akufo-Addo to apologize to the good people of Ghana during his State address on the economy on October 30 but reacting to these calls on Asempa FM, Mr Oppong Nkrumah explained that the ‘mess’ was not created by the government. He was quick to once again cite the effect of the Russia-Ukraine war on the global economy.
“The president admitted that we are in crisis. There was a part in his speech where he noted that we can’t take lightly the situation despite the global crisis…some people were expecting something different and let’s not reduce the conversation to that. They wanted to hear the president take the blame and apologise.
“There is a third problem coming, do you know that China has extended the tenure of office for president Xi Jinping? They have extended it by an extra five years…his attempt to annex Taiwan. If indeed China carries on with its plans, its case will be similar to Russia-Ukraine. Can you imagine the damage, especially with the increase in crude oil prices? If indeed China attacks Taiwan, what will be the implication?” he quizzed.
The Minister sounding the alarm added: “News outlets in other countries are analyzing the implication this possible attack will have on them but in our case, we haven’t taken a look at it but when it happens and we spell out the implications they will say it is pure fabrications but these are the realities in the world we live in. It is therefore not a matter of the president accepting blame because that’s not the matter of fact.”
The Chinese are seeking full control of the Taiwan island which was historically under their control back in the 17th Century.
China’s president, Xi Jinping is seeking a “reunification” with Taiwan. The use of force in fulfilling this takeover has not been ruled out according to reports.
Calls for President Akufo-Addo to resign as Ghana’s president have become intense as hundreds of protestors thronged the streets of Accra.
The aggrieved citizens clad in red and black attires are demonstrating against the country’s current economic state.
The cedi had lost more than 30% of its purchasing power against the US dollar as of September, partly pushing inflation rate to 37.2 per cent, the highest in almost two decades.
The local currency is selling at about GHS13.7182 against the dollar on the forex.
Currently, a litre of petrol is going for about GHS18, and that for diesel, close to GHS24, as such, transport operators have increased transport fares.
Meanwhile Ghanaians are demanding that government should relief the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta as well as the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen of their duties.
Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) have applauded Ghana’s National AfCFTA Coordination Office (NCO) and UNDP for equipping them with the requisite skills and understanding of the African Continental Free Trade Area in order to take advantage of the Continental Trading Agreement to expand their market and grow their businesses.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry, through the National AfCFTA Coordination Office in collaboration with the UNDP, undertook intensive education of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Kumasi as part of their Market Expansion Project aimed at equipping MSMEs to harness full benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Several MSMEs who participated in the three (3) day training on AfCFTA attested to now having a deeper understanding of the African market, and what it will take them to build on their business and thus harness benefits of the AfCFTA as a continental trading agreement.
Lydia, Sarfoa, an SME and MD of Sarfosco ventures – producer of Star laundry soap said: “I didn’t know much about AfCFTA, but after this programme I’ve been able to learn how to prepare, plan and know the various market opportunities available in Africa for Small Scale Industries like us”. She expressed gratitude to the NCO and UNDP for the opportunity to understand nuances of the AfCFTA.
Constance Bonsu, CEO-Constance Naturals, couldn’t hide her joy of getting understanding into seeing her products on the shelves of shops in other African countries. “I am elated, because for the first time I can see AfCFTA has really come home; we have been engaged and given forms with the promise that they will be coming to visit us. So now I can confidently say that, yes, we are taking-off on AfCFTA; and, yes, they have really come home to the small business entrepreneur, and I hope they are going to live up to expectations on what they have inspired in us and we will be able to break through the continental market because of their interventions,” said Constance, who couldn’t hide her excitement.
Another SME, Benedicta Owusu, CEO-Benefoods and Consult, admitted her initial ignorance about the AfCFTA until benefitting from the training by the NCO in partnership with UNDP. “I have heard so much about AfCFTA, but I didn’t know how to position my business to take advantage of it. So, I am very grateful to the National AfCFTA Office and UNDP for this training.”
Elizabeth Agyapong is an SME involved in the manufacturing of organic skin-care products, and believes that she is now well prepared to storm the African market with the training offered by the Ghana National AfCFTA Coordination Office (NCO). “We’ve heard a lot about AfCFTA, but today’s meeting with the National AfCFTA Office and UNDP is so amazing because our products were going into other African markets without us knowing that we can actually do exports to those countries. We’ve learnt how to export, and the right ways to pass to do very good exports of our products to other African markets. I have been very fortunate and I’m thankful to be part of this training programme by the Ghana AfCFTA Office and UNDP,” she expressed.
According to Divine Kutortse, a Programme Officer at NCO and also the NCO/UNDP Project Officer, Aspiration 6 of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 envisions an Africa whose development is people-driven – relying on the potential of Africa’s people, especially women and youth. Furthermore, to broaden inclusiveness in operation of the AfCFTA through interventions that support young Africans, women and Small and Medium Enterprises – as well as integrating informal cross-border traders into the formal economy – is significant to implementing the simplified trade regime.
“Competitive youth-led firms have the potential to create more and better jobs, and foster production and trade of diversified goods and services across the continent; which promotes access to a wide range of goods and services and increased income, thus ultimately improving lives of the African people,” the NCO officer opined.
Regional Representatives of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and heads of Business Advisory Centres (BACs) and Business Resource Centres (BRCs) in some six (6) districts of Ghana – including Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Ketu South Municipal Assembly, Sefwi Wiawso Municipal Assembly, Jomoro Municipal Assembly, Sagnarigu district Assembly and Kassena–Nankana West district Assembly – have been trained on the AfCFTA and its requirements for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by Ghana’s National AfCFTA Coordination Office (NCO) in collaboration with the UNDP.
According to Dr. Fareed Arthur, head of the AfCFTA National Coordination Office, the Government of Ghana through the NCO is committed to mobilising resources and implementing measures with a view to improving the export capacity of both formal and informal service suppliers, with particular attention to micro, small and medium size enterprises, women and youth suppliers.
The heads of state agencies with mandates to promote the activities of MSMEs were taken through the ACFTA’s current status, various protocols, legislations, rules and export requirements under the AfCFTA. They are expected to return to their various districts and disseminate information to MSMEs at the local level, to help them remain compliant to export requirements under the AfCFTA and boost their trade with Africa.
Daniel Owusu Ansah, a deputy director with Ghana Enterprise Agency in the Ashanti Region, expressed gratitude to the NCO, UNDP and MoTI for the insightful education on the AfCFTA.
“In fact, today I am happy to learn about AfCFTA, which is a single large market that creates borderless trading for 55 countries of Africa with a population of 1.3bn people and has the potential to generate GDP of US$3.4trillion. I have also learnt about the rules of origin components, to the extent that if it’s a good it must be grown and processed in the country. I have also learnt about exportable commodities under AfCFTA; and we were taken through the tools that will support our clients, the SMEs to go through. So, I must say I’m very excited about the programme and it is very educative.”
Henrieta Zatonaga, a deputy regional manager for the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), also expressed her excitement for the training – stressing how beneficial it has been for her. “I have learnt about the rules of origin and how to administer the assessment tool; and I know when I get back to my district I will sensitise my MSMEs on how they can take advantage of the common Africa market, which is a great opportunity for them. And then we will look at how we can categorise the MSMEs in order to consider the capacities in which we can support them, in terms of training, access to certifications and tools required for their preparations to take advantage of the AfCFTA.”
The Business Advisory head for Ketu South Municipal Assembly, Rabiatu Ibrahim, expressed hope that her training on the AfCFTA by the NCO and UNDP will go a long way to improve the businesses of MSMEs in her district. “I have learnt about the certificate of origin and steps required to be taken in order to brand products and meet the standard criteria for exports under the AfCFTA; and when I go back home, I will also share with the MSMEs in my district the knowledge I have acquired.”
Shadrach Oko Annang, also an Assistant-head for the Business Advisory Centre (BAC) in Sewhi Wiaso, thanked the NCO and UNDP for the training – which he described as an eye-opener.
“A lot of people in the various districts have heard about AfCFTA but don’t know much about it. But due to this training, when we go back to our various districts we will be able to enlighten them on the processes, procedures and other requirements for trading with their counterparts in other African countries. We will also put in a lot of effort to bring this free trade into very good use,” he assured.
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) – the statutory national tourism regulator and other frontline analogue tourism statutory institutions, stakeholders and players in the tourism nomenclature, including the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB), the National Commission on Culture (NCC), the National Theatre of Ghana (NTG) and others are aware of defects in the National Tourism Development Strategy and blueprint; and are therefore working assiduously around the clock, with proactive and action-oriented pragmatic steps and processes to address the noted defects in the sector to reposition and make Ghana an attractive and competitive international tourism destination hub.
Dr. Seth Adjei–Baah, the Board Chairman of the GTA Governing Board, said this in an exclusive interview with the Business & Financial Times (BFT) Tourism Desk yesterday in Accra.
The GTA Board Chairman was reacting to an article published in the October 27 issue of the B&FT, which pointed to issues of and defects in Ghana’s tourism development strategy and legal regime.
Dr. Adjei-Baah, who is a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkawkaw and also former President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, asserted that the GTA and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) at large are not oblivious of gapping defects in Ghana’s Tourism Development Blueprint, as a major obstacle that has retarded and obstructed Ghana’s tourism development, resulting in Ghana’s still and stunted growth and progress over the years.
According to the GTA Board Chairman, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, is an action-oriented man who is working hard to turn Ghana’s tourism fortunes around with an ambitious target to make tourism the foremost contributor to gross domestic product (GDP). He indicated that as a practical action to achieving the laudable and ambitious target, the minister has prioritised and called for collaboration among all tourism sector agencies.
Dr. Adjei-Baah said MOTAC, the sector minister, tourism sector implementing agencies and their boards are all tasked to undertake regular, strategic joint meetings as a pragmatic approach to address loopholes and defects in the national tourism development strategy for holistic national tourism development.
The MOTAC implementing agencies boards’ strategic and collaborating meeting, according to Dr. Adjei-Baah, is organised by the GTA Board and coordinated by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GTA, Mr. Akwasi Agyeman.
GTA Board Chair revealed that the most recent MOTAC implementing agencies collaborating meeting took place on 28th October, 2022.
Strategic Sourcing and Industrialisation insights with Prof Douglas Boateng
While the terms ‘Made in Ghana, or South Africa or Kenya or Nigeria’ have become common components of goods and services produced on the continent, a broader focus on ‘Made in Africa’ may be the key to long-term business success and continental wide socio-economic development.
This is particularly pertinent when it comes to the AfCFTA initiative and strategic sourcing practices on the continent.
With a potential market of approximately 1.347 billion people, organisations need to begin to think beyond their own communities, national and regional boundaries and start to consider the opportunities available to them throughout the continent.
Not only will a focus on a ‘Proudly African’ way of doing business increase access to greater markets and suppliers, it will also allow organisations to strategically source continentally produced products and services, thus supporting socio-economic growth, SMME development, AfCFTA and long term industralisation in Africa.
Price-driven acquisitions an ongoing threat to strategic sourcing and industrialisation
Current organisational procurement and consumer buying behaviors – which tend to focus on price-driven acquisitions – are hampering long-term industrialisation and socio-economic development in Africa.
While price is always an important element of sourcing and procurement, organisations and consumers in Africa need to recognise that the cheapest price does not always equate to the best value for money for society as a whole.
But, how can organisations and individuals alike begin to move away from short-term price-focused sourcing and consuming behaviours, and initiate long-term focused and developmental driven procurement habits? The possibilities vary. But from a strategic industrial and consumer sourcing perspective, the following should be considered.
Local should mean continental
To begin with, a mindset change, when it comes to the term ‘local’ needs to be promoted. Instead of understanding the idea of ‘local’ as being related to national, for example, Ghanaian, or South African or Kenyan or Nigerian or Namibian, production and services should instead be viewed as an African (ie continental product).
This focus on continental instead of national will open up greater opportunities for access to a larger number of products and services, while at the same time allowing for an expansion of potential markets.
Sourcing must be value driven and not price driven
Next, when it comes to sourcing, organisations and individuals on the continent need to be value driven and not cost driven. This means that instead of sourcing products and services based on just the ‘best price,’ they should rather take the quality and subsequent long-term value of the goods for industry and society into consideration.
Cheaper does not always mean better or value for money, and in a market rampant with low-cost, poor quality products, organisations should be weary of the influence that short-term price gains may have on the sustainability and success of their business and in the long term, on society
Source ‘locally’
Organisations should be encouraged to first source products produced locally (ie on the continent). If such sourcing attempts are unsuccessful, only then should they turn to the international market.
This practice of providing African organisations with the opportunity to supply products and services to their peers and continental counterparts, allows for the development, support and growth of SMMEs, long-term industrialisation and socio-economic development on the continent.
Support ‘Proudly African’
With the concept of sourcing locally first in mind, there needs to be a movement towards promoting ‘Proudly African’ and ‘Made in Africa’ products.
Instead of focusing purely on individual countries in which products are produced, a ‘Made in Africa: produced in Ghana, South Africa or Mozambique’ concept needs to be supported.
This support of African products and services will not only encourage a break in popular trade barriers, but will also enable the continent to tackle supply chain issues and challenges as a collective whole, rather than as individual, separate nations.
By following the above-mentioned suppositions, organisations on the continent may begin to reverse current short-term industrial and consumer behavior, and as such, prevent mainly price-driven acquisitions from continuing to de-industrialise the continent.
In addition, by promoting a continental rather than an individual country procurement and sourcing environment, organisations can contribute towards the acceleration of industrialisation, SMME growth, job creation and regional development in Africa.
In short, large political and socio-economic issues need to be tackled as a collective to break down artificial trade barriers. In time, African economies can move away from country specific initiatives to ‘Proudly African’ initiatives.
For strategic sourcing to change the economic fortunes of the continent, it is crucial that Africans educate and encourage individuals and organisations to think beyond their own community and national boundaries, and to use strategic sourcing practices to promote continent-wide development.
Douglas Boateng, Africa’s first ever appointed Professor Extraordinaire for supply and value chain management (SBL UNISA), is an International Professional certified Chartered Director and an adjunct academic. Independently recognised as one of the vertical specific global strategic thinkers on industrialization, supply and value chain governance and development, he continues to play leading academic and industrial roles in sectorial reforms both in Africa, and around the world.
He has received independent recognitions and numerous lifetime achievement awards for his extraordinary contribution to the academic and industrial advancement of supply chain management from various international organisations including the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, the Commonwealth Business Council and American multi-national Hewlett Packard (HP). For more information visit www.douglasboateng.com and www.panavest.com
Woodin’s new ready–to–wear collection is made from exclusive prints from our heritage.
“Fabric designs for this collection are mainly Bogolan in nature, with the objective of getting our customers to appreciate Bogolan in a modern way and to promote African creativity,” says Georgina Mensah, Head of Marketing at Woodin. “We want the youth to know Woodin can help them forge their individual identity and stand out from the crowd.”
With trendy patterns and stripes in harmonious mix of colours, styles for this ready-to-wear collection are suitable for casual and smart-casual occasions. Collection available in all Woodin Retail Stores nationwide. Woodin, Le créateur.
Woodin, Africa’s number 1 retail fashion brand, is a truly African brand that is inspired by African art and culture. As a fast fashion brand, we constantly work to deliver fashion inspiration to our consumers, who reflect confidence whenever they wear our unique designs everywhere they go. We have over 37 years of fashion design expertise that enables us to play this role of true fashion connoisseurs, helping to define African fashion today.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, will join the Awomefia of Anlo state, Togbe Sri III, to celebrate the Hogbetsotso festival this Saturday, November 6, 2022 in Keta in the Volta Region.
The historical visit to the Volta Region, while it will not be the first time, is hugely anticipated to add to the grandeur of the meeting between the two powerful traditions in the country.
The relationship between Asante and Anlo states dates back to the 19th century during the reign of Asantehene Kofi Karikari, when the Asante, Akwamu and Anlo States formed a tripartite alliance during the Asante-Krepi War (1869-1872).
This year’s celebration is on the theme ‘60 Years of Anlo Hogbetsotso Za: Uniting for Development, Sustaining our Unique Cultural Commonwealth for Future Generations’.
Ghana’s Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has pleaded with the European Union to assist Africa by establishing universal customs tariffs on the entry of products.
In his view, regardless of the geographic locations, there should be uniform taxes on commodities transferred from European countries to African countries, rather than distinct ones.
Annoh-Dompreh, the Member of Parliament for Nsawam/Adoagyiri, stated this during a meeting with European Union officials on Friday at a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Majority Chief Whip is currently in Johannesburg, representing the Pan-African Parliament’s President in a high-level meeting with European Union representatives.
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh also spoke on the Continental Free Trade Agreement, urging Africans to do their homework on the rules of engagement in order to get it validated, especially on the Customs Tariff, which is becoming essential in terms of destination, which has an impact on trade.
During the meeting, the European Union also promised to help Africa harness its raw material reserves in the Energy Transition Revolution.
The EU also promised to support the Pan-African Parliament’s Committees. The next review engagement, as gathered, will be in December 2022.
Hon. Annoh-Dompreh met with the delegations once more to discuss Sub-Regional Security, Cooperation, Energy Transition, and Investments, among other topics.
Fortune Charumbire, President of the Pan-African Parliament, named Annoh-Dompreh as Leader of All Special Delegation of the President’s Office across Africa two months ago.
He was given the task of leading the President’s Delegation to Special Missions.
The Majority Chief Whip was rewarded with the new role bestowed upon him by the New Pan-African Parliament President.
The international rating agency, Fitch may further downgrade Ghana’s creditworthiness status to RD to CC.
According to a Bloomberg report, Fitch sees a higher than 50% chance of Ghana’s debt default.
The report noted that the existing CC rating “means that default is probable, with a higher chance than 50%.”
The Head of EMEA Sovereign Ratings, Jan Friederich noted that if talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led to debt restructuring, the country risks a further downgrade.
“If a debt restructuring is part of the agreement with the IMF, then, in terms of default risk, that will supersede any benefit from the financing support that Ghana might get from the IMF,” Friederich is quoted by Bloomberg.
Also, “a restructuring would likely lead to the relevant rating being placed in restrictive default,” he said. That rating is assigned to an issuer that, in Fitch’s opinion, “has experienced an uncured payment default or distressed debt exchange” on a bond or loan but hasn’t entered into bankruptcy or some other form of administration.”
Meanwhile, Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that there will be no debt restructuring as talks with the fund progresses.
Here is the full report by Bloomberg
Ghana’s sovereign credit rating may be downgraded closer to default by Fitch Ratings should talks with the International Monetary Fund on a record new $3 billion funding package lead to debt restructuring.
If that happens, Fitch would likely lower the country’s long-term issuer default rating to RD from CC, Jan Friederich, head of EMEA Sovereign Ratings, said in a phone interview.
Ghana hopes to use fresh money from the IMF extended credit facility program under discussion to boost its finances and regain access to global capital markets. Investors have been concerned about the financial health of Africa’s second-biggest gold producer, whose public debt was 68% of gross domestic product at end-July, according to central bank data.
“If a debt restructuring is part of the agreement with the IMF then, in terms of default risk, that will supersede any benefit from the financing support that Ghana might get from the IMF,” Friederich said from Hong Kong on Oct. 27.
“A restructuring would likely lead to the relevant rating being placed in restrictive default,” he said. That rating is assigned to an issuer that, in Fitch’s opinion, “has experienced an uncured payment default or distressed debt exchange” on a bond or loan but hasn’t entered into bankruptcy or some other form of administration.
The existing CC rating “means that default is probable, with a higher chance than 50%,” Friederich said.
Default Risk
In September, Moody’s cut its rating on Ghana’s long-term foreign debt to Caa2 from Caa1, citing macroeconomic deterioration which was “heightening the government’s liquidity and debt sustainability difficulties and increasing the risk of default.”
Ghana began formal negotiations for the extended credit facility program with the IMF in September. The world’s second-largest cocoa producer sought help from the Washington-based lender after homegrown policies, including cutting 2022 discretionary expenditure by as much as 30%, failed to stop investors from dumping its Eurobonds. The currency depreciated at a faster pace and debt-service costs soared.
When Fitch downgraded its assessment in September for the third time this year, it said there was a “high likelihood” that the proposed IMF support program would require some form of debt treatment, due to climbing interest costs and structurally low revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product.
Fitch estimates that Ghana’s government faces interest payments this year equivalent to 44% of revenue, rising to slightly above 50% next year. That compares with a sub-Saharan African median of about 14%, according to the rating agency.
Local Debt
Bloomberg reported in September that Ghana was considering reorganizing part of its 190.3 billion cedis ($13.6 billion) of local debt, as part of the talks with IMF. A committee was formed last month to solicit views from bondholders for a debt management strategy.
“We would be looking at which part of the debt will be affected,” Friederich said. “There are still open questions about what decisions they are going to make about the inclusion of local currency or foreign currency debt; we assume for the time being that both will be incorporated.”
Ghana’s 2030 dollar bonds may be excluded from any restructuring because they were partially guaranteed by the World Bank, he said.
The Ghana Police Service has deployed personnel to oversee and ensure calm and orderliness at the ongoing Kume Preko Reloaded demonstration which commenced at Obra Spot in Accra on Saturday, November 5, 2022.
Live photos and videos coming from GhanaWeb reporter, Nimatu Yakubu, shows police personnel in their full gear comprising of helmets, bullet proof jackets, and face shields.
Also, trained horses and armoured cars have been stationed at vantage points to protect lives at the protest which has recorded an impressive turnout.
The ‘Kume Preko Reloaded’ protest led by Lawyer Martin Kpebu was organized to register Ghanaians’ displeasure over the current economic hardship and failed economy under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his New Patriotic Party government.
Protesters displayed several placards calling on the president to step down from his position including his vice president, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as well as the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
According to our reporter, the demonstration has so far not recorded any causalities.
Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Dome-Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo
UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Charles Abani
Charles Abani [left] and Blessed Sogah
