A member of the Finance Committee in Parliament has laid the country’s current economic crisis solely on the doorsteps of President Akufo-Addo.
John Jinapor said the woes is due the unprecedented and reckless borrowings by his government.
According to him, despite the global economic situation, there is nothing to show for the huge borrowings.
President Akufo-Addo
“The [crisis] is a Nana Akufo-Addo problem. There is a problem and what we are witnessing now is unprecedented. Something must be wrong somewhere because of excessive borrowing. We are borrowing as if there is no tomorrow. Going forward, government must move away from reckless borrowing”, John Jinapor said in an interview with Citi TV on Monday.
The Yapei Kusawgu MP added that the government’s failure to invest in productive sectors is sinking the economy.
“Managing an economy is not only about today but the short, medium and long term. If you borrow and invest it in productive sectors, it spurs economic growth, creates jobs and generates more revenue and can deal with the headwinds”, the MP added.
Recent international ratings that saw Ghana’s economy downgraded to reflect the country’s inability to fix its liquidity and debt challenges.
With limited access to the international financial market and challenges with domestic revenue mobilization to rescue the situation, Ghana has now turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a US$ 3 billion bailout.
However, President Akufo-Addo addressed the nation on Sunday, October 30, about measures his government was taking to curtail the current economic crisis.
In his address, the President hinted at possibly securing a deal with the IMF by the end of the year.
According to him, the country is likely to arrive at an agreement by December to get the crucial bailout it seeks.
Amidst the general economic difficulties facing Ghanaians, the President in the address to the nation on Sunday insisted that the government is committed to ensuring that the economy is back on track.
Some Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have started increasing prices of petroleum products at the pumps from this morning, November 1, 2022.
Petrol and diesel prices are going for an average of ¢18 and ¢23 per litre, from the previous prices of ¢15 and ¢19 per litre respectively.
Already, some leading OMCs have adjusted their prices of petroleum products at the pumps.
They attribute the significant increase in the price of fuel to the sharp depreciation of the cedi over the past two weeks.
Presently, the price of crude oil on the world market is relatively stable, selling at $94 per barrel.
But the price of fuel has gone up by more than 100% since the beginning of the year. Petrol and diesel sold at about ¢7.5 per litre at the beginning of 2022.
The Institute for Energy Security (IES) had earlier stated that petrol and diesel prices were expected to go up further to ¢18 and ¢20 per litre by the middle of November 2022.
It also projected a further increase in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas despite a 1.43% fall in the commodity on the world market.
But this latest increase in the prices of petroleum products indicates that the new prices have come too early.
Lorry drivers in Brazil loyal to President Jair Bolsonaro have blocked roads across the country, after his poll defeat to leftist rival Lula.
Blockages were reported in all but two states, causing considerable disruption and affecting food supply chains.
With all the votes counted, Lula had 50.9% of the valid votes against Mr Bolsonaro‘s 49.1% in Sunday’s run-off.
The incumbent far-right president has neither conceded defeat nor challenged the results that divided the nation.
There are concerns that the outgoing president could complicate the two-month transition period before Lula (full name Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva), a former president, is due to be sworn in on 1 January 2023.
Pro-Bolsonaro lorry drivers started setting up roadblocks across the vast country soon after the election results were announced.
By Monday night, the federal highway police reported 342 such incidents, with the biggest protests going on in the country’s south. Some of the blockages were later cleared by police.
Many lorry drivers have benefited from lower diesel costs during the Bolsonaro administration.
Jair Bolsonaro is yet to publicly comment on the election results
Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes on Monday ordered the police to disperse the roadblocks immediately.
He warned that all those still blocking the roads on Tuesday would be each fined 100,000 Brazilian reals (£16,700: $19,300) per hour.
Mr Bolsonaro, 67, is said to have gone to sleep after he narrowly lost to his arch rival.
Combative statements from Mr Bolsonaro in the past – such as that “only God” could remove him from office – mean there is a tense wait for him to appear in public. Before the election, he had repeatedly cast unfounded doubts on the voting system.
In his victory speech soon after the results were made public, Lula, 77, touched on the political rift running through Brazil which further deepened during a bitterly fought and often acrimonious election campaign.
“This country needs peace and unity. This population doesn’t want to fight anymore,” he said, promising to govern for all Brazilians and not just for those who had voted for him.
Congratulations have poured in from across the world, including from the leaders of the UK, China, France, India and Russia. US President Biden said the win came “following free, fair and credible elections”.
It is a stunning comeback for Lula, a politician who could not run in the last presidential election in 2018 because he was in jail and banned from standing for office.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Morbi district in India’s western state of Gujarat where a bridge collapse has killed more than a hundred people in one of the worst accidents in years.
The colonial-era bridge collapsed into the Machchu river on Sunday, days after it reopened after repairs.
Search and rescue operations on the river resumed on Tuesday.
Nine people, including employees of a firm contracted to maintain the bridge, have been arrested.
The 230m (754ft) bridge on the Machchu river was built during British rule in the 19th Century.
The bridge was a major local tourist attraction – touted by the state’s tourism website as an “artistic and technological marvel” – and reopened only last week after being shut for months for repairs.
Reports said that several hundred people were on the structure when it collapsed at around 18:40 India time (13:10 GMT) on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as people clung on to the wreckage, waiting for rescue teams to save them.
Some tried to swim to the banks of the river and managed to survive but many others were swept away by the fast-moving water.
Rescue work on the river resumed on Tuesday morning
The police on Monday said at least 141 people had been killed, but later revised that number to 135, without giving a reason for the updated toll.
Officials said that most of victims were women, children and elderly people.
On Monday, teams of disaster response workers and Indian military scoured the river in small boats, paddling through its muddy waters and the mangrove shrubs in search of the missing. Hundreds of locals too joined in the efforts, while distressed relatives searched for their loved ones.
By evening, the rescuers had managed to recover 134 bodies. Search operations were paused for the night but resumed on Tuesday, with platoons of rescuers reaching the spot early morning.
At least 170 people have been rescued so far. A police official present at the site told the BBC that they would continue the search until everyone was accounted for.
Gujarat is the home state of Mr Modi, who said he was “deeply saddened by the tragedy”. The state government has announced a day of mourning in the state on Wednesday.
Authorities have promised a full investigation after questions were raised about whether safety checks were done before the bridge was reopened.
Funerals for some of the victims have been taking place in Morbi
Police say the nine people arrested are all associated with Oreva group, the firm contracted to maintain and operate the bridge.
They include two managers, two ticket clerks, two contractors and three security guards for negligence leading to the tragedy.
They are being investigated for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, senior police officer Ashok Kumar Yadav said.
The firm has been accused of multiple lapses, including its alleged failure to get a fitness certificate from the municipality.
Oreva has not responded to questions about the collapse. Some are asking if top-level managers in the company will also be investigated.
The tragedy – the worst in the country in many years – has devastated the people of Morbi, a quaint little town known for its thriving ceramic industry.
On Monday, two main crematoriums in the city were running full, even as a search for survivors continued. In cases where entire families were wiped out in the accident, locals took it upon themselves to perform their last rites.
Meanwhile, several others were reportedly still missing on Tuesday.
Siddique, who went to see the bridge with his friend, says he has been looking for him since Sunday night.
“We were standing in the middle of the bridge when it broke. I clung on to a part of the broken bridge and somehow made my way out, but I don’t know where my friend is,” he says.
Veteran broadcaster, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah (KKD), is wondering how much the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo owes his cousin, Ken Ofori-Atta, for which he cannot sack him from government.
Speaking on Accra-based Joy News, the media personality claimed that the finance minister’s continuous stay in office could be due to the undisclosed debt.
He stated that parliament in their quest to trigger a motion for a vote of censure on Ken Ofori-Atta, must also probe for any debt Akufo-Addo may be owing him.
He noted that the finance minister’s performance in the current administration has been abysmal, therefore, he needs to be shown the exit.
“Ken must go. Ken must go…How much money do you alone want to have? Why? Databank alone, how many of your staff are in government at the moment?
“How much money does Nana Addo owe you? In fact, Parliament must ask this question … I think the President owes him.
“Because if the President doesn’t owe him, what is it that is so beholding to this gentleman that with what he’s done with our economy, he is still allowed to be at post?” KKD asked in his interview.
KKD’s concerns add to the consistent calls for the removal of the finance minister due to the current economic hardship the country is facing.
These calls have become rife across both social and traditional media, with many accusing the Finance Minister of steering Ghana’s economy into a ditch.
Members of the Minority have signed a motion for a vote of censure on Ken Ofori-Atta
As part of their reasons, the minority cite the overall mismanagement of the economy and ethical concerns, among others.
Parliament is yet to hear the motion with the Speaker having added it to this week’s order of business.
Some group of persons reportedly stormed the National Headquarters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Adabraka on October 31, 2022.
The group is said to have entered the third floor of the deputy general secretary, Barbara Serwaa Asamoah, and removed her prepaid meter.
These individuals are also said to have threatened to deal with the Deputy General Secretary for ‘allegedly installing a prepaid meter in her office.
In a press statement from the NDC signed by Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the leadership of the party condemned such actions adding that the party will take immediate steps to involve law enforcement agencies.
“In the early hours of yesterday, Monday 31st October 2022, a group of persons managed to gain entry into the national headquarters of the National Democratic Congress at Adabraka in Accra.
“Upon entering, the said group, clad in red and fuming with rage, entered the 3rd-floor office of the Deputy General Secretary, Hon. Barbara Serwaa Asamoah, and removed a prepaid meter. Soon thereafter, the spokesman of the group addressed the crowd that accompanied him and threatened to deal with the Deputy General Secretary for allegedly installing a prepaid meter in her office,” the statement added.
Below is the statement
In the early hours of yesterday, Monday 31st October, 2022, a group of persons managed to gain entry into the national headquarters of the National Democratic Congress at Adabraka in Accra.
Upon entering, the said group, clad in red and fuming with rage, entered the 3rd floor office of the Deputy General Secretary, Hon. Barbara Serwaa Asamoah, and removed a prepaid meter. Soon thereafter, the spokesman of the group, addressed the crowd that accompanied him and threatened to deal with the Deputy General Secretary for allegedly installing a prepaid meter in her office.
The Leadership of the NDC wish to condemn in no uncertain terms this blatant act of thuggery and criminality and will take immediate steps to involve the law enforcement agencies to deal with the miscreants and their sponsors.
The party will take additional steps to identify all who entered the premises to carry out this dastardly act and to subject them to the disciplinary measures provided by the party’s constitution.
No member of the party has any right whatsoever to attack any leader of the party at any level for whatever reason. Any attack on a national officer is an attack on the entire leadership of the party. And any of those elements who are party members will be dealt with without fear or favour in accordance with the laws of the party. LONG LIVE THE NDC! ISSUED IN ACCRA THIS TUESDAY 1st NOVEMBER
Seoul’s funeral homes are now filled with the bodies of young people and their heartbroken parents. At the end of a long corridor, Mr Sim and his wife sit crumpled on a small sofa, unable to lift their heads.
Inside one of the rooms is the body of their son, 28-year-old James Sim. In the room next door is James’ friend Yoon. And in a funeral home across the city lies James’ girlfriend.
They had gone to Itaewon together on Saturday night with two other friends to celebrate Halloween. James had organised the evening. “He was always the organiser, as he loved nights out with his friends,” his mother says.
James was one of 155 people who died in the crowd crush as a narrow bar-lined alleyway became dangerously overcrowded. The first sign something had gone wrong came when his parents – like many others – awoke to find their son’s bed empty. James’ father got his friends to call him. The police answered.
As they got caught in the deadly crush, two of the friends managed to claw their way through the crowd and up onto some railings at the edge of the alleyway. James, his girlfriend, and Yoon couldn’t make it out.
James loved to exercise, and spent most of his spare time in the gym, lifting weights to bulk up, his mother says. She can’t understand how this did not save him.
James’ relationship was getting serious, his father says. He and his girlfriend would have married soon – if they had survived. He worked as a plumber, a job he did diligently, but his passions were skiing and surfing. His mother’s eyes crease with a flicker of joy as she recounts what he loved to do, but his father’s close and tears fall.
“James was the best older brother,” he recalls. “How is my younger son going to cope without him?
James’ parents are not yet ready to blame anyone for the tragedy
In the room, next to his coffin, sit half a dozen of his old schoolfriends. Park Ju-sung has known him the longest, since they were eight.
“I was such a shy child,” Ju-sung says, “James was my only friend. He invited me to everything and encouraged me to take up taekwondo with him. He helped me become more outgoing.”
James’ friend Yoon, whose coffin is in the next room, was grown-up beyond his 28 years and comfortable in his own company. He loved exploring. In the evenings, he used to go to bars alone and try to speak to foreigners so he could learn foreign languages, says Jung-su, who says he admired his confidence.
More than half the victims were in their 20s and the trauma is being felt across this generation. This is the second disaster they have lived through. In 2014, 250 high school students died when a ferry sank off the southwest coast of the country. The high school students would have been in their 20s now.
Investigators are piecing together what happened
At a large public altar, set up in the centre of Seoul, people gathered to mourn. Nineteen-year-old Kim Dae-hui laid a single white chrysanthemum, Korea’s flower of mourning, in tribute to his friend Raghu Jordagan, who was 21.
He had moved to South Korea from Malaysia in January 2021. The pair had become friends after Raghu approached him on the street to compliment his style. He worked in construction to earn money for his family back home, but he was creative at heart and dreamed of being a fashion designer, said Dae-hui.
They would hang out and listen to hip hop music and swap fashion tips. They were teaching each other their languages. “Raghu was more patient than me, he never got annoyed,” Dae-hi remembered, removing his glasses to allow his face to sink into his hands.
Raghu had video-called him from the alley as the crush started. He was next to a young woman who was struggling to breathe. They stayed on the phone as Raghu tried to figure out how to escape. Then the woman’s hand went cold and Raghu hung up. This was the last Dae-hui heard from him.
Image caption, Kim Dae-hui saw his friend Raghu on social media videos from the crush
The next morning, he looked through the videos being shared on social media and saw the face of his friend in the crowd, pale and distressed. He convinced himself it wasn’t Rahgu, just someone similar looking. Then the police called. It seemed he had been pushed and trampled on, they said.
Learning the names and the stories of the dead is making this tragedy even harder for people here to comprehend. They need answers, putting authorities under increasing pressure to establish exactly what went wrong and who is accountable.
James’ parents are not ready to blame. “Our son was pushed, and he died. It was an accident. We have not thought who was responsible. We cannot think. All we can do is cry.”
South Korea’s police chief has said crowd control during the Itaewon crush was “inadequate” – the first acknowledgement from officials that they did not do enough to prevent it.
Amid growing calls for accountability, Yoon Hee-keun said he felt “limitless responsibility about public safety” over what happened.
He vowed a full investigation.
Interior Minister Lee Sang-min also apologised for the incident that killed 156 people and injured 152 others.
It happened on Saturday night as crowds gathered in an alley in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul, to celebrate Halloween without restrictions for the first time since Covid.
Mr Yoon said police had received numerous calls before the accident happened, alerting them to the seriousness of the situation, but their response was lacking.
Seoul police have told the BBC the first call to South Korea‘s emergency number came at 18:34 local time – hours before the deadly crush reportedly began – and there were 10 more calls over the next three-and-a-half hours.
The police chief said the police response was “disappointing”. They would conduct a “speedy and rigorous intensive investigation” to see if proper action was taken after receiving the calls, and if officers had reacted appropriately.
In a National Assembly meeting, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min made an apology to citizens. “It is very sad for me as a father who has a son and daughter… it is difficult to express in words how unreal this situation is, and it is difficult to accept this situation,” he said.
Mr Yoon and Mr Lee’s comments follow growing public demands for accountability. But other authorities have sought to portray it as an accident which could not be easily blamed on anyone.
Image caption, Notes left near the scene say the crush should never have happened
The police earlier said they deployed more officers for this year’s Halloween festivities than they did for pre-Covid parties.
One congressman on Tuesday also pointed out that because there was no main organiser for the party, there had been no special requests made to the police for crowd control and safety management.
“It’s impossible to ask for legal responsibility, as nobody was responsible,” said Yoo Sang-bum, who is with the ruling People’s Power Party, on local radio.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo appeared to echo this line later at a foreign media briefing, saying it was “difficult to have safety control in advance” for an incident without an organiser.
He said the government would review the issue of accountability only after a thorough investigation into the causes.
But President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday the incident revealed the importance of crowd management and a lack of research in South Korea on the subject.
“Rather than nitpicking about whether the event had an organiser or not, it’s the people’s safety that’s important, and we need to come up with thorough measures,” he said, while suggesting the use of drones and other digital capabilities to manage crowds in future events.
President Yoon had been facing mounting political pressure and plummeting ratings even before the incident. Police have said they had to redirect some of their resources to elsewhere in the city on Saturday night to manage huge protests against the government.
President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is suspending – but not ending – its participation in a deal that allows safe passage to vessels carrying Ukrainian grain exports.
Moscow pulled out of the UN-brokered agreement on Saturday, alleging that Ukraine had used a safety corridor in the Black Sea to attack its fleet.
The UN says there were no ships inside the corridor that night.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the deal would be honoured and accused Russia of “blackmailing the world with hunger” – a claim Russia denies.
Despite the fallout, 12 ships containing 354,500 tons of food, including grain, left Ukraine’s Black Sea ports on Monday, Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry said. This constituted a record volume of exports since the grain deal began, said a spokesperson for Odesa’s military administration quoted by Reuters.
One of the vessels carrying 40,000 tons of grain was destined for Ethiopia, where “the real possibility of mass starvation” existed, the infrastructure ministry added.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, its navy imposed a blockade on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, trapping about 20 million tonnes of grain meant for export inside the country, along with other foodstuffs such as maize and sunflower oil.
But in July, a deal between Ukraine and Russia was brokered by Turkey and the UN, agreeing to resume grain exports through the Black Sea ports.
On Monday, however, President Putin said the deal was being suspended, citing the “massive” drone attack on its fleet in Crimea that he alleged Kyiv was responsible for.
He said maritime safety must be ensured and that implementing grain exports under such conditions were too risky.
“Ukraine must guarantee that there will be no threats to civilian vessels,” Mr Putin said in a televised address.
Kyiv has not admitted responsibility for the attack, saying Moscow had long planned to abandoned the internationally-brokered deal and used the attack as a pretext to do so.
“In conditions when Russia is talking about the impossibility of guaranteeing the safety of shipping in these areas, such a deal is hardly feasible, and it takes on a different character – much more risky, dangerous and unguaranteed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia’s withdrawal from the deal has been condemned by the US, who said Moscow was “weaponising food”.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has urged Russia to reverse its decision, saying jeopardising the export of grain and fertilisers would impact the global food crisis.
The Russian ambassador to the US has rejected accusations that his country was exacerbating a global food crisis, saying it was unfair to criticise Russia.
The suspension comes as Russia says it has expanded its evacuations of the occupied Kherson region, despite stating over the weekend that these had come to an end.
President Akufo-Addo and his government do not respect public opinion, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu has observed citing recent pronouncements by the president.
Iddrisu stated in an interview on Joy FM, on October 31, 2022, that it was unacceptable that a president who is on record to have pleaded with voters to try him will turn out to be disrespectful of public opinion.
His comment was in respect of Akufo-Addo’s retort earlier his month that he was not moved by threats of some people to vote against the New Patriotic Party, NPP.
“President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s biggest headache is, he is just disrespecting public opinion and he does so at his own peril. This is the first time I am seeing a government just simply not respect public opinion…
“He has forgotten that he used to beg, that vote for me, try me. They’ve voted for you, they’ve tried you now you are saying that you are not going to hold people’s hand into a ballot room?” Haruna Iddrisu asked rhetorically.
What exactly did Akufo-Addo say?
The president was answering a question by an OTEC FM journalist over threats by people of the two areas to vote against the NPP. “No problem, no problem,” Akufo-Addo is heard saying.
He continued: “I am saying people make those kinds of threats, me, they don’t frighten me. Somebody votes for you, somebody supports you, it is because they want you to do things for them, so I understand that.
“There is no need for people to say if I do not do it, this or that. That is your own problem. Of course, I will fulfil my promises.
“But if it so happens that you decide to vote for the NDC, that is your problem, that is not mine. Nobody will hold your hand to thumbprint for any candidate, the most important thing is that I understand the responsibility and we will deal with it,” he stressed.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, has indicated the president’s posture during his address on Sunday, October 30, was that of a man who was very angry.
According to him, Akufo-Addo clearly indicated that he was not ready to solve the economic challenges that the country is currently facing.
Dr. Ato Forson noted in an interview on Joy News which was monitored by GhanaWeb that the president did a poor job of asking Ghanaians to rally behind him during these difficult times.
The Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam MP is of the view that the address of the president was long overdue.
“Unfortunately, the President waited too long to address the nation, and even when he decided to address the nation, his posturing alone wasn’t good enough. Watching the President, I saw someone who was angry, but I did not see someone who was ready to solve a problem. The body language is everything so I was more interested in his body language and I saw an angry man.
“Your people are in crisis, their livelihood is at stake. People are struggling to have three square meals a day; they’re looking up to you as the President. You don’t come threatening them because some of them are rumour mongering.
“You come obviously by talking to them in a way that they can buy your message. I think whoever wrote that speech if it’s himself, did a very poor job, if it’s another person, whoever did that job must go because actually, the people of Ghana were waiting for that master stroke but it did not come out as such,” Dr. Ato Forson stated while commenting on the address.
To him, the president’s address should have announced some immediate actions being taken to curb the fiscal issues, including some alleviation plans to help support the most vulnerable in society.
The MP noted such a statement of hope would have earned the support of Ghanaians instead of their ire and ridicule.
“Let me tell you something…if the President had come and had announced to the people of Ghana to say ‘yes, because of the crisis A, B, C and D, I’m relieving 40 of my ministers or 30 of my ministers’ it’s a big signal. It tells the people of Ghana that this man means business.
“It calms the nerves of everyone. Quantify it and say that I’m making savings of ABCD and I’m going to put these savings into, say LEAP to support the elderly. The people of Ghana want to see things like this,” Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson observed.
A veteran broadcaster, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah (KKD), has expressed disappointment in President Akufo-Addo’s use of the term, ‘l’argent n’aime pas du bruit,’ to wit, ‘money does not like noise,’ during his recent address to the nation.
According to the broadcaster, being a man of language, if the president wanted to appeal to the emotions of Ghanaians, he should have rather used the French phrase, ‘l’argent n’a pas d’odeur,’ to wit, ‘money has no odour.’
Speaking during an interview on JoyNews on Monday, October 31, 2022, and monitored by GhanaWeb, KKD explained that what President Akufo-Addo said is not factual.
“All of culture is embedded in language, and when he said it, I felt heartbroken because that was the statement to the populace who are speculating about where we are going and how the cedi is performing badly. He thinks if you talk down the money, then the money would go down. No! that’s not true,” he said.
He continued that if by the translation of what the president said in French, he meant that he has no problem with money, then he should have rather used a more appropriate one.
“If you talk down Joy FM, Joy FM will not come tumbling down so long as they have success criteria and are working assiduously to ensure that the success criteria is in place.
“You know, as a French scholar too, I think the better one he could have used is what is actually about his governance, which is ‘l’argent n’a pas d’odeur’: ‘sika nni panpan’, because if you look at in Kufuor’s regime, a man who was known to be corrupt, eventually was appointed by Nana Addo to become the head of the Public Procurement Authority, then it tells you that he has no problem with money, no matter the smell of it,” he said.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and, particularly, the Minister of Finance, have come under a lot of recent pressure over the management of the economy, which has seen many indicators looking bad for the country.
For example, the Ghana cedi has fallen by approximately 50% against the US dollar in the last ten months.
This has been coupled with inflationary pressures which have seen Ghana record a rate of 37.2 percent in September 2022 – the highest in about 20 decades.
The current economic challenges have culminated in job losses, worker agitations, rising costs of living, and general frustration among the populace.
Joe Jackson, a financial analyst with Dalex Finance, has stated the removal of Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, won’t solve Ghana’s current economic hardships.
According to him, real change will happen only after the entire process of managing the economy and problematic policies are given a second look.
Speaking on Accra-based TV3, in an interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Mr Jackson explained “the most important thing we can do today is cut the size of government, send a signal to all of us that we are prepared to face our problems.
“If we change the people and we don’t challenge the policies, we don’t change the process, if we don’t change the thinking, nothing will change. I wish that those backbenchers had not just demanded somebody be changed but some people completely removed.
“It is not handing over from Ofori-Atta or Charles Adu Boahen to another person who will do the same thing.”
Some members of the Majority caucus on Tuesday, October 25 demanded the removal of Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Minister of State at the Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen.
The MP’s during a press conference stated “we are by this medium communicating our strong desire that the President changes the Minister of Finance and the Minister of State in the Finance Ministry without further delay.”
“We want to serve notice, and notice is hereby served that until such persons as aforementioned are made to resign or removed from office, we members of the Majority Caucus here in Parliament will not participate in any business of Government by or, for the president by any other Minster,” leader of the bloc, Andy Appiah-Kubi, Asante-Akyem North MP said.
After a subsequent meeting with President Akufo-Addo, it emerged that the president had appealed for some time for his embattled ministers especially as Ghana is negotiating a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the 2023 budget is also being compiled.
The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has predicted a 10 percent increase in prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) with petrol and diesel likely to see an increase between GHS 3 and GHS 8 effective Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
COPEC says this has been as a result of the international price movements of petroleum products.
Currently, some Oil Marketing Companies are selling petrol at GHS 17 while diesel sells at GHS 19.
“We are certain that one of the key things confronting the generality of Ghanaians currently has to do with fuel prices that keep increasing week in, week out. As of October 28, we were doing an average GHS 14 for petrol while diesel was averaging between GHS 17 to GHS 19 a litre,” says Executive Director of COPEC, Duncan Amoah.
The government has currently assured that steps are being taken to “secure reliable and regular sources of affordable petroleum products”, to bring reprieve to consumers of the product.
“Government is working to secure reliable and regular sources of affordable petroleum products for the Ghanaian market. It is expected that this arrangement, when successful, coupled with a stable currency will halt the escalation of fuel prices and bring relief to us all,” President Akufo-Addo assured.
Industry players have warned of tougher times ahead as prices of petroleum products continue to increase.
In an interaction with Citi News, the Executive Director of COPEC, Duncan Amoah said there is likely to be a further increase effective Tuesday.
“Most of us expected that, the presidential address will attempt some urgent solutions to the situation we find ourselves in with respect to forex and ways to bring down prices. Unfortunately, the only bit we heard was that we are going to explore fuel from cheaper places, we do not have the details. To say that we are not probably out of the woods yet as far as fuel price increases will be an understatement. On Tuesday, expectations within the downstream market could go up again.”
As Ghana considers some debt restructuring, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, has clarified that the president’s assurances of no haircuts with respect to money invested in bonds cover just the principals for the time being.
“My understanding is that no principals will be touched. No principals will have a haircut,” Mr. Nkrumah said on the Citi Breakfast Show.
The minister however added that “the debt sustainability strategy is yet to be announced in full.”
“When they are done with the rest of the strategy, and they come out and do a full announcement, we will have clarity on the form that the debt restructuring will take,” he said.
The concerns over debt restructuring have accompanied the government’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion bailout.
As to the fate of interest expected on the principals, Mr. Nkrumah said, “I think we should give them time to come out and announce the full details of the debt sustainability strategy.”
The minister further said the president’s assurances, which came via an address on Ghana’s economic crisis, were in response to rumours about haircuts on principals.
Ghana’s talks with the IMF mission are expected to resume in the coming weeks as the government works to manage its almost GHS 400 million debt.
Moving forward, to address the debt situation, the president said the government plans to reduce the total public debt to GDP ratio to about 55 in present value terms by 2028, with the servicing of external debt pegged at not more than 18 percent of annual revenue also by 2028.
It is expected that the government will have to restructure the debt to make it more sustainable in order to qualify for the $3 billion support from the IMF.
The Finance Ministry recently said it is committed to reaching an agreement with the IMF as soon as possible.
The government is optimistic that it will have a deal in place before the 2023 budget is read next month.
The Deputy Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, has stated that the Bank of Ghana is to blame for the Ghana cedi’s depreciation.
According to him, the printing of new notes is the reason the cedi has been falling in recent times.
He noted that when the money supply is high, the cedi keeps falling.
“The key issues have to do with the failure of the Bank of Ghana. The Bank of Ghana is entrusted with the responsibility for price stability. The Bank of Ghana has the responsibility to maintain what we call the Inflationary Targeting Framework, which is built around making sure that the government does not unnecessarily borrow from the Bank of Ghana to finance the budget,” he is quoted by citinewsroom.com.
Adongo stated that the Bank of Ghana has been printing more money in recent times in a bid to finance government expenditures.
“Last year, the Bank of Ghana lent to the government about GH¢35 billion. By May this year, it lent an extra GH¢22 billion. This has put a lot of money into the economy. These monies are monies that are chasing the dollar everywhere. Once there is so much cedi chasing the dollar, the dollar has to run faster to save itself. This is why we are here. The Bank of Ghana has failed in all forms, and I am surprised people are pushing for the sacking of Ken Ofori-Atta and not Mr. Addison. Both of them have teamed up to derail our economy and compromise our future,” he said.
A mother of seven children has been killed in a gory accident on the Offinso – Aboffour highway.
Three others sustained severe injuries in that same accident.
The deceased identified as Sister Naomi, 38, reportedly died when a trailer with a full load run over her on the highway.
The sad incident, according to an eye witness, occurred when the deceased together with her friends were on their way to Aboffour market on Thursday October 27, 2022.
An eyewitness, Daniel Offei in an interview with OTEC News Kwame Agyenim Boateng narrated how the incident occurred, “the deceased boarded a tricycle (aboboyaa) from Offinso Samproso to Aboffour for trading activities”
“Naomi is said to have fallen from the tricycle after its tyre burst leaving her in the middle of the road, the trailer which was on a top speed run over the deceased killing her on the spot”
The driver of the trailer who’s yet to be identified is currently in the grips of the police assisting investigations.
The body of the deceased has been conveyed to the mortuary by police officers from Offinso who came to restore calm at the scene.
A New Patriotic Party (NPP) Deputy National Communications Director, Kamal-Deen Abdullai, has berated Members of Parliament (MP) of the minority caucus for blocking the impeachment of their colleague MP for Dome-Kwabenya Sarah Adwoa Safo.
Kamal-Deen said that the MPs by their actions were doing a lot of disservice to Ghanaians because they are protecting an MP who is being paid for no work.
He added that the excuse by National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs that Adwoa Safo should be given a chance to explain her absence does not hold water.
He explained that the MP had refused to appear before the Privileges Committee of the House to give reasons for her absence.
“Ghana seeks to develop, the constituents of Adwoa Safo are supposed to be served better. Are we happy with what you are seeing? Let us put the law aside and ask ourselves objectively, the people are supposed to have representation in Parliament, through no fault of theirs, their Member of Parliament is somewhere and running on social media … singing and dancing.
“… we sit here and say use the law. We are going to use the law alright but I am asking, are we not short-changing the people of Dome-Kwabenya? Aren’t we?” he said in a Good Morning Ghana interview monitored by GhanaWeb.
The NPP communicator further stated that the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, ruling that Adwoa Safo fate is to be decided by the plenary after Privileges Committee indicated that she should be removed was wrong.
He added that the NPP will be exploring all the legal options available to get the NPP removed.
Alban Bagbin, on October 26, 2022, gave a ruling that the report of the committee set up to look into the case of the MP and two others who absented themselves for a number of sittings should be presented before the whole house to be debated.
He, therefore, dismissed the objection of the Majority Leader to the admissibility of the committee report for the consideration of the house.
“As I have noted in this ruling, the decision (sic) on not to admit a motion is the exclusive preserve of the Speaker. In view of the foregoing, the House is well within its right to receive and consider reports of the committee and make a determination arising out of the consideration.
“In the circumstances, it is my ruling that the motion was rightfully admitted and the report of the committee is subject to the consideration of the house. It goes without saying that the (sic) objection of the Majority Leader today (sic) is hereby dismissed…” he concluded his verdict.
The National Identification Authority (NIA) will on Monday (31 October) close down its special service centre at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra.
“Applicants requesting update and card replacement services should visit the nearest NIA district or regional office,” the NIA announced on Friday.
“All applicants yet to pick up their cards having successfully undergone an update or card replacement process before the closure should do so at the NIA Greater Accra regional office, located at PWD, Kinbu.
“Applicants requesting the card verification service should visit the NIA head office at Shiashie, Accra. For further information and assistance, kindly call 0302 999 306.”
The NIA on 28 March this year moved the update of personal records, verification and replacement of cards to the El-Wak Stadium. That move came a few days after a stampede at the premises of the National Identification Authority headquarters in Accra led to one person being rushed to the hospital, reports the Daily Graphic.
The Ghana Card is the primary and sole identity card for sim re-registration and for other official requirements in state and some private institutions.
The South African high commissioner to Ghana, Grace Jeanet Mason, has said her country is ready to adopt Ghana’s One District One Factory (1D1F) programme to enhance industralisation at the district level.
Mason said the 1D1F programme provides a great opportunity for a thorough industrialisation drive.
She said South Africa will continue to collaborate with Ghana to improve bilateral trade under the
The South African high commissioner to Ghana, Grace Jeanet Mason, has said her country is ready to adopt Ghana’s One District One Factory (1D1F) programme to enhance industralisation at the district level.
Mason said the 1D1F programme provides a great opportunity for a thorough industrialisation drive.
She said South Africa will continue to collaborate with Ghana to improve bilateral trade under the AfCFTA.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (31 October), Mason said, “… when the president [Ramaphosa] was here [Ghana] in December, we had conversations on the successes that we see as South Africa in the One District One Factory (1D1F).”
“That is something, that we as South Africa, will then adopt as well to look at our district level, how we continue to industrialise because that is part of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
The high commissioner said South Africa will continue to leverage Ghana’s comparative advantage in agriculture for the growth of the continent.
“So those are the comparative advantages and opportunities that we will leverage, amidst the current economic situation,” she added.
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Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (31 October), Mason said, “… when the president [Ramaphosa] was here [Ghana] in December, we had conversations on the successes that we see as South Africa in the One District One Factory (1D1F).”
“That is something, that we as South Africa, will then adopt as well to look at our district level, how we continue to industrialise because that is part of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
The high commissioner said South Africa will continue to leverage Ghana’s comparative advantage in agriculture for the growth of the continent.
“So those are the comparative advantages and opportunities that we will leverage, amidst the current economic situation,” she added.
A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communications team, Edudzi Tameklo, has said the president missed an opportunity to address the plight of Ghanaians during his update on Ghana’s economy on October 30.
According to him, Akufo-Addo has failed as a leader as he has continuously blamed COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine as the cause of Ghana’s economic woes.
Speaking in an interview on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abi show, Edudzi Tameklo said, “Akufo-Addo missed an opportunity. Akufo-Addo had a glorious opportunity to bring Ghanaians together to solve the current economic crisis, unfortunately, he missed that opportunity so we are back to square one. Leadership is not an easy task so I won’t downplay it, but as a leader, the last person it rests with is Akufo-Addo. But how long can our president continue with blame game, how long will our president continue to blame COVID-19, Ukraine-Russia?. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on October 30, addressed the nation on some measures taken to curb the current economic crisis and cedi depreciation.
During his address, he said the country was making headway after COVID-19 until the Russia-Ukraine war emerged to disrupt the progress achieved.
He said, “we had done it before, and we were on course to do it again. Ghana’s economy grew by a remarkable 5.4% in 2021, signifying a strong recovery from the 0.5% growth recorded the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, in the last quarter of 2021, our economy grew at seven percent (7%), only for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the first quarter of this year to aggravate the effects of COVID-19, and plunge the global economy into even greater turmoil from which it has not yet recovered.”
It was based on this Edudzi Tameklo quizzed why the president keeps referring to the things he has already mentioned and attributing them as reason the country is plunged into economic crisis instead of taking pragmatic steps to solve the issues.
Augustine Owusu Mensah, a science teacher at St. Matthias R/C JHS, New Takoradi, has invented a humanoid robot to enhance teaching and learning in his community.
St. Matthias R/C JHS is located in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly in the Western Region of Ghana.
Augustine used ordinary materials such as pieces of wood, metals, and some parts of spoiled computers and wires to build this human-like robot. He gathered these materials with his students and built the machine in three weeks. This is interesting and smart.
The most astounding part is that the robot can answer any question provided the question is answerable. It can be used to solve mathematical problems, science, English, Social Studies and many more. Also, it can be used in quiz competitions such as spelling bees, Mathematics, Science and the like. It is highly powerful.
With this, teachers, professors, scientists, students, companies, sports analysts, doctors etc can use the robot in their research. The robot is able to communicate with humans perfectly and also solve vital problems.
Augustine uses this intelligent robot to teach. This makes his lessons very enthusiastic and captivating. Indeed, this science teacher is taking Ghana education to a new level through science and technology. Ghana and Africa will be extremely proud of this great achievement. Check out his video.
Chief Nixon Biney, the Deputy National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress(NDC) continues to hold the position that an officer of the Ghana Police Service allegedly infiltrated the demonstration he staged with some Ghanaians against, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Friday, October 28, 2022.
It will be recalled that during the protest, Chief Biney who was the brain behind the demonstration, raised alarm over what he suspected to be a police officer who was planted among the demonstrators to mar the peaceful march.
The allegations of Chief Biney were vehemently rejected by the Deputy Chief of Staff Emmanuel Adumua-Bossman who scolded Chief Biney over the allegations.
“These officers have been here trying to protect life and property and also to ensure that this thing moves on as smoothly as possible. So, to accuse them of something they may not even be aware of is a bit unfair,” he said.
But in a post on his social media handle, the NDC Organizer hopeful vowed to expose the said police officer with evidence that validates his claim.
Chief Biney claimed that the police after their failed attempt to stop the demonstration resorted to other tactics to ‘frame’ him by infiltrating the protest one of their own.
“It was in the spirit of ensuring that the voices of the suffering masses are heard by Dr. Bawumi, our self-acclaimed economic messiah and our vice president that I took the bold decision to peacefully picket at his office, which is also my right as a citizen of our beloved Ghana.
“I, as a responsible citizen, took the path of law and order by informing the police as stipulated by the constitution and laws of Ghana of the intention to embark on the protest.
“After several meetings which ended with mutual agreement on the manner in which the protest will be conducted, the Police acting in bad faith applied to the court to seek an injunction to restrain me from holding the protest. Strangely enough, the police fix which was filed on Wednesday 26th Oct, to be heard on 27th Oct, just a day before the scheduled protest. Fortunately, wisdom prevailed and the court rejected the application for injunction however, made orders to vary the venue of the protest and other related issues.
“I complied with the orders of the court and ensured that there were 19 other protesters who accompanied me to march to the DVLA office on the Switchback Road where the representative of the vice met me to receive the petition however, the Ghana Police decided to frame me up by using an outmoded police intelligence gathering style by infiltrating my peaceful action with a fool of a police officer. When they were exposed, they denied it by lying that this fool of a police officer was not from the Ghana Police Service but there are a lot to share soon,” he stated on social media.
On Friday, Chief Biney led hundreds of Ghanaians to walk from Kawukudi Park to the DVLA head office in Accra to register their anger over what they believe to be poor handling of the economy by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
The demonstrators held the view that the Dr Bawumia who was head of the Economic Management Team has failed at his job.
Abena Osei-Asare, the deputy minister for finance has said the government will support specific industries in Ghana in a bid to close the country’s import gap.
President Akufo-Addo on Sunday announced plans by the government to review the current import regime to create market for local products.
“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,” the president said.
“Government will, in May 2023, that is six 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,” he added.
Appearing on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (31 October), Osei-Asare said some goods have already been identified under the initiative.
“Already, I know the Ministry of Trade has identified certain products that we believe within the short to medium term, we can produce to reduce our imports on these items,” she told the host Kwaku Nhyira-Addo.
“Everything that the government will have to do in the form of financing, capacity building and any form of assistance, government is ready to do that to assist, so that these identified group of businesses will be supported to help close the import gap,” Osei-Asare said.
A Presidential Staffer, Dennis Miracles Aboagye has said it is not Akufo-Addo’s job to apologise to Ghanaians for the current economic crisis the country is facing.
According to him, the duty of the president is to take Ghanaians out of the economic crisis the country is facing rather than apologise.
His comment comes on the back of calls by some Ghanaians on social media who have raised concerns over Akufo-Addo’s failure to apologise to Ghanaians for the current economic crisis including IMF bailout after he vehemently spoke against it.
After his address on the economy on October 30, some social media users including ace broadcaster, Nana Aba Anamoah, raised questions after the address on Twitter with the caption “No apology. No acceptance of responsibility. Nothing, absolutely nothing!”
Speaking on the Big Issue on TV3, the host quizzed why the president did not apologise to Ghanaians after Ghana went to IMF, Miracles Aboagye responded “apology for what?”
He continued “I need to clarify this, when as speak I speak as a Ghanaian, when I say the people and you also say the people whose words are you taking? Is it not all of us. The president’s job is not to come to us and come and be crying and apologising to us. The president job is to find a way out of the situation for us”.
Government says its appointees will still have the 30 percent slash in salaries as part of austerity measures to mitigate the country’s current anti-growth economy.
President Akufo-Addo said the decision to still hold on with the policy was agreed on at the just ended Cabinet Retreat at Peduase Lodge.
He made this known on Sunday, October 30, 2022, while updating Ghanaians on the state of the economy.
“We have decided also to continue with the policy of 30% cut in the salaries of political office holders including the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs, and SOE appointees in 2023.”
Additionally, government is also continuing with the 30% cut in discretionary expenditures of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Earlier this year, the President announced a slash in his salary by 30% with immediate effect following the outset of economic difficulties.
While announcing a 50% cut on fuel for government machinery, he said his ministers were not exempt from the salary cut.
The President’s decision according to him was to send a signal to citizens about the need to sacrifice as the country goes to the International Monetary Fund for support.
The President of any country usually moves around with a convoy for official, sometimes ceremonial occasions; albeit with varying number of vehicles that escort same.
In Ghana, President Akufo-Addo, like other presidents before him, are seen during many official and ceremonial events, being escorted by a number of vehicles, usually V8.
It was a similar sight when President Akufo-Addo was captured leaving the palace of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II in his presidential vehicle, being escorted by a convoy.
This was after the President paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene at the Manhyia palace during his tour of the region earlier this month.
A set of black V8 vehicles lined up at the frontage of the Manhyia Palace and drove off one after the other after the President sat and was ready to move.
President Akufo-Addo, during his visit, touched on issues regarding illegal mining and how to deal with the canker.
Meanwhile, the president has been criticized on some occasions in the past, for using a long convoy when going on trips around the country.
Financial Analyst Dr Michael Dawson has responded to claims that the financial sector clean –up which has ensured that the financial sector is solid , robust and resilient was Ken Ofori-Atta ‘s idea.
“Let me state that the decision to undertake the reforms in the financial sector was mooted by the IMF. Thus, the clean-up was part of the IMF Conditions for the country.
“You remember the asset quality review which was executed during the NDC era. The asset quality review gave a sense of the state of the banks. Former Finance Minister Seth Tekper and Governors appointed by President Mahama are aware of the malfeasance which was discovered after the asset quality review of the Banks.
“During the NDC era, the IMF published several reports warning the Bank of Ghana to take some corrective measures within the banking sector, but the NDC government failed to clean up the sector. I think we should stop politicizing the benefits of the banking sector reforms.The reforms have led to stability and confidence in the financial sector.
“I can tell you that, some depositors were not getting back their funds from some of the financial institutions. Some of the banks had also breached several banking regulations. Indeed, the financial system at the time, was on the brink of total collapse. The central bank had clearly explained that the clean-up was based on poor business practices and weak capital positions of the banks and financial institutions. I am aware that the liabilities of some of the banks were more than their assets”.
Dr Dawson made these comments in a write up following a statement by President Mahama that the Honourable Ken Ofori-Atta proposed and introduced the idea of the reforms in the banking sector.
“I will say that the resilience shown by the banking sector is due to the comprehensive financial sector reforms that took place before the Coronavirus pandemic. You can imagine what would have happened if the banking sector reforms wasn’t done. We would have woken up one day to see a collapse of the Ghanaian economy. The measures taken safeguarded the investments of 4.6 million depositors. There is confidence now in the sector. The exercise was crucial for stability and confidence in the financial sector”.Dr Dawson said.
Speaker Alban Bagbin has said he welcomes dissenting views being expressed on his rulings in the House.
This comes after he was heavily criticized by the Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu on his ruling to refer Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament Sarah Adwoa Safo to the plenary for debate.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, Speaker Bagbin said “The Supreme Court sometimes disagrees, sometimes the decision can be unanimous but after a few months they themselves realize they erred. I always welcome disagreement. It is a language that sometimes I feel uncomfortable about but as for the disagreement, it is welcomed.”
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu had told him that his understanding of law on how to handle a lawmaker who has been absent without permission, was wrong.
Addressing the press after the Speaker’s ruling Adwoa Safo, on Wednesday October 26, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who is lawmaker for Suame said “The Speaker is totally wrong in his understanding of the law, that is why I repeated that he has sent us on a very obsequious path, it doesn’t help Parliament.”
Mr Bagbin ruled that Parliament will debate on the removal or otherwise of Adwo Safo.
Delivering his ruling in Parliament on Wednesday October 26, Speaker Bagbin said “The house is well within its right to receive and consider the report from the committee and make a determination.
“It is my ruling that motion be was rightfully admitted.”
Sarah Adwoa Safo absented herself for more than the stipulated 15 days.
The Majority caucus wanted her seat to be declared vacant but this was opposed by the Minority, who felt she should be heard first.
The Speaker also questioned the authority of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs to declare her seat vacant.
In March, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu disclosed that Sarah Adwoa Safo had requested a month-long leave from the House.
Subsequently, the Speaker referred her case and that of two other MPs, namely Henry Quartey, MP for Ayawaso Central and Kennedy Agyapong, MP for Assin Central, to the Privileges Committee for hearing.
Speaker Bagbin, who deferred ruling on the matter before parliament went on recess, promised to do so when sitting resumes.
In a formal communication to the House on Tuesday, the Speaker noted that because there were few things to transact just after the assumption, he deferred the ruling to Wednesday.
Government communicators over the past few weeks partly blamed the fast-depreciating local currency on speculations.
This critique found expression in President Akufo-Addo’s speech on Sunday night.
According to him, negative speculation about the cedi has an attendant effect on how the forex market reacts.
At a time when the government is struggling to restore confidence in an economy in crisis, the president says such conversations are pointless.
“Fellow Ghanaians, as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mmpɛ 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,” he said in his address.
He was speaking on the state of the economy and measures taken to salvage the situation as talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continue.
The country is in an economic crisis leaving a dire impact on all sectors.
Ghana is currently at the doors of the Fund seeking a possible $3 billion support amid intensifying hardship, skyrocketing fuel prices, a rising cost of living and a depreciating cedi.
The reactions from social media to this comment are not even about the ‘what’ but rather, the manner in which he said it.
Essentially, this will not be the first time the multi-lingual President has used a different tongue to articulate his point, especially regarding finances.
Between his ‘y3te sika su, nanso 3kom di y3n’ comment in 2016 as a presidential candidate and today’s ‘Sika mp3 dede’ as President, something has to give, according to Ghanaians on social media.
It is trending on the microblogging website, Twitter with nearly 3,000 tweets garnered so far.
Here are some of the reactions:
The president, Nana Addo says: Sika mp3 dede, we’re talking so much about the cedi. That is why it is dropping.
So I learnt the meaning of “sika mp3 dede” to wit means the noise y’all making about the economy and hardship in the country ain’t gonna solve our problems but rather worsen it. So lass lass y’all should shut up and suffer..herhh! Na so we dey for this country? Ei
NADAA says “sika mp3 d3d3” to wit, the noise y’all making about the economy been hard ain’t gonna solve shit! It’s rather gonna worsen everything eeeeiiii GHANA !!! https://t.co/mTVAfF5qiq
Nana Addo simply translated @stonebwoy‘s bawasaba lyrics “Sika mp3 rough, me mp3 dede” into French as “l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpe dede.
The Government of Ghana has adopted five measures to prevent further free fall of the cedi.
President Akufo-Addo announced these measures on Sunday, when he addressed the nation on the country’s current economic crisis.
The measures he said are:
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.
Fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market, and addressing the pipeline demand;
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
The Bank of Ghana will enhance its gold purchase programme.
President Akufo-Addo said he was confident that “these immediate measures designed to change the structure of our balance of payment flows, sanitise the foreign exchange market to ensure that the banks and forex bureaus operate along international best practices, together with strengthened supervision, will go a long way to sanitise our foreign exchange market, and make it more resilient against external vulnerabilities going forward.”
The cedi was tagged by Bloomberg as the worst-performing currency in 2022 with its trading value at around GH¢14 to a dollar.
Prices of products such as fuel, cooking oil, rice and other imported items have gone up astronomically within the last few weeks following the depreciation of the cedi.
The continuous free fall of the cedi compelled the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to declare a strike to force government to take steps to strengthen the currency.
The Dental and Medical Council has called on Health professionals not to seek greener pastures abroad as the country is losing health professionals.
This call was made at the induction of newly qualified Medical and Dental practitioners.
Speaking as the chairperson of the induction ceremony, Member of the Dental and Medical Council, Dr. Constance Addo-Yobo, who acknowledged this phenomenon, pleaded with the newly inducted health professionals not to seek greener pastures abroad to the detriment of the health sector in the country.
Dr. Addo-Yobo also urged doctors to make sacrifices within the country too.
“Please accept postings to the regions and the districts outside Accra and Kumasi. You will learn a lot there,” she said.
“Also, do not be tempted to look for greener pastures in places like the UK and other countries, like some of your colleagues are already doing.”
“Let us halt this brain drain. It has taken the taxpayer a lot to invest in your education,” Dr. Addo-Yobo implored.
Veteran broadcaster, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah, popularly known as KKD, has called for the sacking of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
According to KKD, there is overwhelming evidence that points to the fact that there have been a lot of thieveries under his tenure.
For this reason, the broadcaster has called for the axe to fall on the head of the country’s chief financial officer.
Speaking in an interview on the JoyNews channel on Monday, October 31, 2022, and monitored by GhanaWeb, KKD explained that just like some 80 Members of Parliament calling for the minister to be sacked, it is the right decision.
He explained that things have gotten so bad that even MPs who will usually tread cautiously in their dealings with the president no longer care how hard they step on his foot.
“I saw someone who had used the brand of KFC, I don’t know why but about 22 people sent it to me… but if you think of it carefully, those MPs who stood up to speak have acted with courage; courage they got from their constituents. Because don’t forget this; because of the way our government is set up, nearly every MP whose government is in power, is angling for a ministerial position so they try as much as possible not to offend the president but I think they’ve gotten to a point where they think ‘even if this president gives me an appointment, I don’t want it’,” he said.
KKD added that it is time for Ken Ofori-Atta to be sacked as the Minister of Finance.
Likening him to an uncle who takes advantage of a very critical situation for his selfish interests, the veteran broadcaster asked that he is sacked.
He also explained that the actions and performance of the finance minister have brought disgrace to his clan, a clear indication of his greed.
“Ken must go! Ken must go because there has been too much thievery under him; thievery which we simply want to call, ‘Oh, it’s unethical’ but I’m telling if you live in a home where two children have sickle cell and one has (sic) and you have an uncle in the home that says things have gotten so bad, we need to go borrow money to perform a surgery for these children.
“And that uncle then goes to see somebody from whom he can borrow money; all he needs is a $100 million, and the person from whom he’s borrowing money, will also ensure that he makes $9.8 million, Ghanaians, will you trust that uncle? That uncle is Ken Ofori-Atta.
“You have embarrassed us, you have disgraced our fathers. Your father came to live a good life but you have disgraced us; you have disgraced the Akyem people and other tribes who have married into our clan because they include the Akyem, the Akuapem and the Nzema. You have disgraced us; you are greedy,” he said.
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said he has always had the notion that President Akufo-Addo is empty ever since he, Asiedu Nketia, was a member of parliament.
According to him, due to Akufo-Addo’s arrogance, he failed to learn from former President John Dramani Mahama’s address which had solutions and proposals.
In a Facebook post, he indicated that President Akufo-Addo’s address on Ghana’s economy on October 30 was “nothing beyond the smoke”.
“I have always insisted that President Akufo-Addo is empty. I formed this opinion many years ago as an NDC Parliamentarian. He was representing the NPP in Parliament. Listen critically to him, and you will know he is full of smoke. Nothing beyond the smoke.
“President Mahama set the right tone in his brilliant address with solutions and proposals at the UPSA for Akufo-Addo to learn from. But arrogance and lack of capacity deprived him of the opportunity to drink from his predecessor’s fountain of wisdom,” he said.
He urged Ghanaians to join the NDC to vote against the NPP in 2024.
“But there’s hope! We have elections 2024 to win to rescue Ghana from this incompetent and clueless NPP government that is determined to use foul means, including violence, to steal the outcome of the elections,” he stated on Facebook.
Thirteen persons have been arrested in the Dormaa East District of the Bono Region for engaging in illegal mining, popularly called galamsey.
They were grabbed following a joint operation involving personnel of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), National Investigation Bureau, Dormaa East District Police Command, and Dormaa East Assembly Members.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Dormaa East, Emmanuel Kofi Agyeman, who briefed journalists after the operation, said the suspects were arrested at different locations in the district engaging in galamsey on Saturday.
He said at Supre, in the Dormaa Akwamu area, the suspects Atanga Kenneth, 25, Amalia Augustine, 23, Amalia Michael,20, Alameya Joshua, 20, and Akasoa Rosemary, 20, were arrested while actively engaging in Illegal mining along the Supre River.
Mr Agyeman said similarly at Kotodwe, in Wamfie, Godfred Amoako, 24, and Adomah Jones, 30, were arrested when they were preparing to prospect for gold in a cocoa farm along the Apampramu river.
A joint security made up of military, police, and immigration officers have arrested a suspected Boko Haram fighter in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
According to a Joynews report, the suspect, identified as Hassan Hussein, was traced by the joint security force to his hideout in the region’s capital; Bolgatanga where he was arrested on Sunday, October 30, 2022.
Preliminary investigations reveal that; the suspect has links with Nigerian Jihadist group; Boko Haram. Security sources say the suspect was found with a wound suspected to be from a gunshot.
The report also indicated that the suspect’s arrest comes after an earlier arrest of two individuals by immigration personnel stationed around Nasia barrier in the Mamprusi West Municipality of the North East Region, had mentioned Hassan Hussein as their leader.
Police have since begun investigations whereas the other two suspects have been asked to be brought to Accra for further investigations.
With video snippets teased from as far back as when Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, stood at the Polo Grounds in Accra to declare the country’s independence in 1957, to many others by past presidents, the sitting government has produced what many people believe is a shot in the foot.
Posted on Twitter by the official account of President Akufo-Addo, the 2 minutes 19 seconds video explores portions of speeches made by past Heads of State, as well as a voice narrative message calling on Ghanaians to rally around the president to solve the current economic hardships.
This is coming only hours after the president addressed the country through a recorded televised video on the current economic challenges.
In his address of October 30, 2022, President Akufo-Addo admitted the fact that the country is facing difficult times, while outlining some 12 measures the government intends to explore in dealing with the situation.
The measures are restoring macroeconomic stability through ab IMF-supported program, tackling cost of living by working to stabilize prices of petroleum products through new supply arrangements, encourage traders to tone down profiteering which is contributing to inflationary pressures, restore debt sustainability by reducing debt to GDP ration to 55% by 2028, and improve national resources and liquidity by raising revenues from 13% to 18%-20% of GDP.
The rest are to pursue inclusive growth while protecting the poor, energy sector reforms to reduce the risk of the sector to the budget, reduce budget rigidities by capping statutory funds, continue with efforts to reduce central government expenditure through budget cuts of 30%, start the process of discouraging importation of rice, poultry, vegetable oil, fruit juices, etc; tackle currency speculation to limit volatilities to the cedi, ensure no haircuts to treasury bill holders in the debt restructuring strategy.
In what appears to have been a re-affirmation or a continuation of the president’s address, the new video reminded Ghanaians that the country has been at its worst before.
“We have travelled down this path before, where we joined forces. When we came together as one people with a common destiny, we rose. In the early 1980s, there was famine, our people were sent back from Nigeria. Food was scarce and there were queues and we survived because we stuck together.
“In the 200s, we went HIPC and struggled but again, we stuck together and rose together,” the video said.
It went on to restate the global economic challenges that have contributed to the current economic challenges being faced in Ghana, calling on Ghanaians to once again come together.
“Due to a combination of global economic challenges: COVID-19, the Russian evasion of Ukraine, and supply chain challenges, we are in a difficult situation. Once again, the forces are pulling us together. Let’s unite around our common challenges and rise together,” it added.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians that he would, as he has done before, turn things around for the country.
Watch the president’s video below:
Fellow Ghanaians, as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money. #HopeForGhanaEconomy#ResolvingTogetherpic.twitter.com/Ep5XoMbccp
As part of the measures to restore Ghana’s economy to prosperity, the government have outlined some steps to be taken to stabilise the economy by 2028.
This was outlined by the president during his address on October 30.
Here are some of the measures Akufo-Addo outlined
1. To restore and sustain debt sustainability, we plan to reduce our total public debt to GDP ratio to some fifty-five per cent (55%) in present value terms by 2028, with the servicing of our external debt pegged at not more than eighteen per cent (18%) of our annual revenue also by 2028.
2. We are committed to improving the revenue collection effort, from the current tax-revenue to GDP ratio of thirteen (13%) to between eighteen and twenty per cent (18-20%), to be competitive with our peers in the West Africa Region. The GRA is rolling out an extensive set of measures to support this enhanced revenue mobilisation. All of us must do our patriotic duty and support the GRA in this exercise.
3. We are aiming to restore and sustain macroeconomic stability within the next three (3) to six (6) years, with a focus on ensuring debt sustainability to promote durable and inclusive growth while protecting the poor.
4. We have decided to review the reforms in the energy sector, capping of statutory funds, implementation of the exemptions Act and a new property rate regime. We have decided also to continue with the policy of thirty percent (30%) cut in the salaries of political office holders including the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs, and SOE appointees in 2023, just as we will continue with the thirty percent (30%) cut in discretionary expenditures of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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;
9. Fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market and addressing the pipeline demand;
10. 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 stabilised manner till the IMF Programme kicks in and the financing assurances expected from other partners also come in;
11. 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 is initially paid to banks domiciled in Ghana to help boost the domestic foreign exchange market; and
12. The Bank of Ghana will enhance its gold purchase programme.
Kwasi Kyei Darkwah (KKD) has stated that he does not believe President Akufo-Addo is in control of things in Ghana.
The veteran broadcaster explained that many indications point to the fact that while the president is in office, he does not wield any power.
Speaking in a Monday, October 31, 2022, interview on Joy News and monitored by GhanaWeb, KKD stated that the fact that Members of Parliament on his side of parliament have openly expressed non-confidence in his chief financial officer, Ken Ofori-Atta, should tell he is failing.
“If nobody remembers anything I say today, please remember this; yesterday, I listened to our president for about half an hour and I learnt for sure that he’s in office but not in power.
“If the people who make laws; the ones on your team… are saying that no, you’re failing us but we can’t tell you directly that you’re failing us, so we’re going to put the blame on your finance minister for now, eventually, we will get to you, are you really in power?” he stated.
KKD also explained that issues such as the president’s recent chattering of private jets, a situation where the country does not even have the money to buy such luxurious planes, make it even more profound that he is actually not in charge of things.
“If you give a speech of 30 minutes and instead of telling us how ashamed you are that you let some of the people you appointed, who had no common sense to tell you, Emperor, you have no clothes, but made you sign, or have somebody you’ve authorized sign to go and rent a plane your nation cannot afford, and they came and give us the stupid justification that by that way, he can have a shower in the sky… how are you in power?” he quizzed.
Among the things that KKD has proposed to the Akufo-Addo government is for him to sack all his deputy ministers and further reduce the number of his ministers.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has resurrected the issue about the withdrawal of his military protection as he describes the action as politically motivated.
Mr. Bagbin who questioned the basis for the action says it is puzzling that the state maintained what he calls battalion for the Electoral Commission Boss even after withdrawing the few military personnel attached to his office.
The Ghana Armed Forces in January withdrew the military personnel attached to the security detail of the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin.
Government has dismissed suggestions that the withdrawal of the military attachment to the Speaker of Parliament by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is an attempt to stifle his protection.
But speaking on the issue publicly for the first time during an engagement with the parliamentary press corps, Mr Bagbin listed a number of individuals whose offices are relatively below that of the speaker of Parliament yet enjoying military protection.
“The Chief Justice has a military, as well as Ministers, have their own and each Supreme Court Judge but the EC Chair has a battalion. My brothers at the Ministry of Defense and Interior both have and the Attorney General has his own. The same as the Minister for Finance but the Speaker is not entitled to a military,” he bemoaned.
“When I was second deputy Speaker, the Office of the same President approved his staff sergeant to by military attaché. For four good years, the staff sergeant was with me.
“Now, I’ve been elected as the Speaker, which is a higher position, and the same president says I’m not entitled to military attachment,” Mr. Bagbin lamented.
Nonetheless, Mr. Bagbin assured the public his security is guaranteed regardless of the withdrawal of the military attachment.
Teacher trainees at Mount Mary College of Education in Somanya in the Eastern region are agitating over attempts by management of the college to allegedly embezzle Ghc279,104 supposed to be reimbursed to them.
The students say they paid for their feeding for four months waiting for reimbursement from government, however when the fund was released by the Student Loan Trust Fund for onward disbursement to the students with GHc 784.00 for each student management has refused to pay the amount to them.
The students numbering 356 said authorities are supposed to refund an amount of GHc 279,104.00 but claimed they have not received any amount.
However, the students say they have evidence that their colleagues from other colleges like Gbewaa College of Education, Bagabaga College of Education, St. Joseph College of Education, Enchi College of Education among others have received theirs.
The students accused the SRC of conniving with the management on the alleged embezzlement.
They also complained of poor feeding despite the payment by government through the student loan Trust Fund.
The Oti Regional Police Command, the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) of Krachie East and Biakoye Districts, with support from International Justice Mission (IJM), have rescued ten children recruited into fishing on the Volta Lake.
In two different operations launched on 5th and 7th October 2022 respectively brought nine and one children to safety.
Seven of these survivors were identified to be victims of child trafficking and the other three, of hazardous child labour.
“The rescue happened in the early hours of Wednesday, October 5 in Adakope in the Krachie East District of the Oti Region. Six trafficked children and 3 others in forced labour were rescued. Five suspects (boat masters) were arrested.
“The survivors, aged 9 to 16 years, were subjected to neglect and emotional abuse. They were used by their boat masters for hazardous fishing activities on the Volta Lake. This included hook and line and bamboo fishing. At the time of rescue, many of them suffered Malaria, STIs, skin infection, bilharzia, oral hygiene and malnutrition,” a member of International Justice Mission-Ghana, Kojo Owiredu Kissi narrated in a press release dated October 27, 2022.
Private legal private practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has berated President Akufo-Addo for failing to transform the economy from a Guggisberg state within eighteen months as he promised while in opposition.
According to him, the situation was painful to the extent that it compelled citizens like himself to discharge a constitutional obligation by ‘speaking truth to power’.
Reacting to Akufo-Addo’s state of the economy address on Accra-based Joy News on Sunday, October 30, the lawyer said President Akufo-Addo’s speech was full of sloganeering stressing that nothing was going to change in terms of the prices of goods and services.
Although he said some supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are not happy with the state of the economy, they expect persons like himself to applaud the president.
Kpebu, who admits to being a staunch supporter of Akufo-Addo in the 2016 and 2020 elections, emphasized he cannot applaud the president since he has done nothing new in his administration to deserve it.
He was reacting to a question on whether or not assurances from the president to move the economy from being largely import-dependent to becoming export-oriented was enough.
“… that’s the one I made the point over and over. That’s what he [president Akufo-Addo] refers to as the Guggisberg economy that we are not adding much value, and so when he came, 18 months…now we have done six years…I have seen some of the comments on social media. It’s painful. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to comment this way, but there is nothing else we have to do.
“The constitution says that citizens must also play their roles, and part of the role-playing is that we speak truth to power because sometimes when I look at some of the comments on the platforms, the one from NPP sympathizers, you can see they are not happy. They expect that we should applaud the president, but there’s nothing new. You heard what GPRTU said,” Kpebu stated.
“Bottom line, the price from Accra to Kasoa is staying the same tomorrow. The price of kenkey is staying the same as GH₵3; Koko, that has increased from GH₵1 to GH₵3 tomorrow morning, will still be GHC3. Kufuor gallon that’s the oil that was GH₵500 has now gotten to GH₵1200. Tomorrow Kufuor gallon oil will still be GH₵1200. Nido, which about two weeks ago GH₵45 and was increased top GH₵60 a few days ago, tomorrow will still be GH₵60.
“I have been checking prices over the past two weeks, and so the prices that increase from about two weeks ago, tomorrow when we go to the market will still be the same. So in such a case, it’s difficult to applaud the president,” he added.
Martin Kpebu used the opportunity to further rally support for his upcoming ‘kume preko’ demonstration slated for November 5.
Akufo-Addo, in his October 30 address on the economy, admitted that the country was in crisis while rallying support for various government interventions to stem the tide.
“We are in a crisis; I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time.
“But, as we have shown in other circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not just the short-term, urgent problems but the long-term structural problems that have bedevilled our economy,” he said.
But like before, President Akufo-Addo blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as causative factors for the economic woes.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has raised concerns over the Ghana Education Service‘s unwillingness to promote teachers and association members to their designated ranks.
According to him, this delay has caused increased agitation among teachers, which could lead to labour unrest.
In a communique signed by the president of GNAT, Rev Issac Owusu, he said some of the agitations, aside from the promotion, also include “failure to supply laptops, allowances payment and opening of base pay negotiations among others.
“Some teachers who were promoted/upgraded since 2015 have not been placed on the right scale. Council finds this irritating and provocative, and with the potential of disturbing the peace on the education front. Council therefore calls on the Ministry of Education/GES to resolve this issue and all other matters relating to Lower Rank promotions by the end of December 2022.” The president stated
Aside from that, GNAT said the decision by the Ministry of Education to appoint a Director General of the GES, Dr. Eric Nkansah, who is not an educationist, sets a lousy precedent among hardworking teachers and educationists; they, therefore, called for the removal of the new GES boss before November 4, 2022.
“The position of Director-General of the Ghana Education Service is the preserve of Educationists, and has been occupied by Educationists since its creation in the 1970s, and remained as such, even under the military regimes. Council found the replacement of Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa with Dr Eric Nkansah, a Banker, as both unfortunate and untenable. In the circumstance, therefore, Council calls for the revocation and subsequent appointment of an Educationist to occupy that office by 4′ November 2022.”
The Presiding Bishop of Victory Bible Church International, Bishop N. A. Tackie-Yarboi, has admonished Pastors and Christians to desist from describing rich people as thieves.
According to Bishop Tackie-Yarboi, many wealthy people worked very hard day and night for their money and properties and therefore cannot be called thieves.
“Some people may acquire their monies through dubious means but not all rich people are thieves,” he noted.
He made the statement during an annual gathering of the congregants dubbed Wonderful Jesus at the VBCI Headquarters, Accra Ghana.
He was preaching on the topic; “Clarifying Unmerited Favour and Merited Favour” emphasising that man needs to work hard to provoke blessings.
“Unmerited favour is only for our salvation but for the rest of everything in life you have to work for it. Remember God doesn’t come down himself but uses people and
the only favour we don’t merit is our salvation,” he explained.
Quoting from the book of Luke 2:40, he admonished the congregants to seek for wisdom and understanding about how the world system is operating.
Bishop Tackie-Yarboi added that, “after you have been saved, then every favour you must get, you have to work for it.”
He finally charged Christians to stop being timid and cowards and get up to fight for higher positions.
The government, in the coming months, will seek to amend the policy and legislative environment to enable credit unions to support cooperative societies and local economic development and job creation.
The Deputy Minister for Labour and Employment, Bright Wireko Bobby made this known at the International Credit Union Day held in Ho over the weekend.
According to Mr. Wireko Bobby, the sector will continue to engage and interact with stakeholders to fine-tune the draft cooperative bill for passage into law.
“We hope to do so within the lifetime of this Parliament because it is long overdue. We will continue to guide you around the clock to achieve this important objective. We have indeed come far. And the International Credit Union day should remind us of the need for introspection on the future of cooperatives in Ghana” he said.
The Deputy Minister noted that he has no doubt that the association will be able to weather the storm and ensure that the contribution of credit unions to the national economy is maximized for sustained growth and development of the country.
He said across the globe, credit unions play vital roles in connecting cooperatives to financial and non-financial services, not only for an individual or family interest, but generally for economic development.
“Through the immense contribution of credit unions, cooperatives have established a significant presence in both developed and developing countries. We serve more than 1 billion members across the globe,’’ he said.
The Volta National Board Chairman of Credit Unions Association (CUA) Limited, Dr. Benard B.B Bingab noted that International Credit Union [ICU] celebrates the spirit of the global credit union movement and the day is recognized to reflect upon the credit union movement’s history, hard work and share member experiences.
Dr. Bingad noted that the ultimate goal is to raise awareness about the great work that credit unions are doing around the world and give members the opportunity to get more engaged.
“As we continue to chart the path of financial well-being for all, today is another chance to show the nation and the world at large how we are improving our members’ lives and also help more people improve their financial well-being through accessible and affordable products and services provided by credit unions,” he said.
Dr. Bingad noted that credit unions offer opportunities and competitive credit, among other relevant financial services which have impacted positively, the lives of many people around the world.
According to the Chairman of Volta Chapter, Doh Redacord the celebration is meant to look beyond the local community to recognize the credit unions for the important roles they play in many distressed urban and rural areas in the world.
Mr. Doh Redacord noted that many people would not have been able to have access to financial services without credit unions, adding that credit unions have consistently carried on the traditions set forth by their founders and represented the values.
General Manager for CUA, Cyprian K.A. Basing said the role of credit unions cannot be overemphasized; particularly in the challenging times triggered by an unfavorable and volatile external environment that has crippled many economies, organizations and individuals around the world.
“As we know, credit unions have over the years played significant roles in transforming the economic development of their members and have significantly brought people together to cooperate towards liberating themselves from financial challenges and the shackles of poverty” Mr. Basing said.
He noted that, despite the challenges, the credit unions movement has remained vibrant due to the core products and services advanced by CUA to credit unions in the country.
“These products include; the central fiancé facility, deposit guarantee scheme and risk management programs; tailored to provide firm pillars for the development and sustainability of credit unions and their members in Ghana,” Mr. Basing said.
On projects and partnerships, he said the Ghana Financial Sector Project (GFSP) is supporting the implementation of a project to support CUA and the credit union movement to acquire a core banking software that will enhance the operations, reporting and supervision
The program was sponsored by the Credit Union National Association, The American Credit Union, World Council and the Volta Chapter of CUA.
The government has said it has released funds to the National Food Buffer Stock Company and the Senior High and TVET Schools across the country for feeding.
In a statement, the government said GH¢126,000,000 had been released to the National Food Buffer Stock Company for non-perishable food items.
GH¢72,106,603 was released to the Senior High and TVET Schools across the country to cover perishable food items & recurring expenditures.
The statement said the money was released over the last four weeks.
“The Public is therefore assured of the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring the timely supply of adequate and quality food items to all second cycle institutions,” the statement noted.
“The Ministry further reiterates Its dedication to ensuring smooth and effective distribution of other resources in its quest to improve and sustain quality education in Ghana.”
The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools had been complaining about the delays in releasing the funds for feeding.
It also warned that many food suppliers had threatened to suspend supplies, while others had withheld the food supplies due to the non-payment of their monies.
Some headteachers had even threatened to close down their schools because of these feeding challenges.
The Minority in Parliament is demanding the appearance of the National Identification Authority(NIA) and the Electoral Commission before the House to clarify concerns with the current data of Ghanaians under their control.
The Minority says this is a result of plans by the EC to rely on the Ghana Card from the NIA for the 2024 General Elections.
Speaking on the Floor of Parliament, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, says statistics from the NIA must reconcile with that of the EC before any such a move could be undertaken.
“Let us see the discrepancy and variance in your numbers because we will not accept any attempt by the Electoral Commission to disenfranchise any Ghanaian because they want to rely on an ID card which is not available to Ghanaians.”
The Minority Leader also called on the house to constitute an ad hoc committee to oversee the implementation of recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee on the Auditor General’s Report.
“Parliament must help the public purse in getting this committee constituted,” Mr. Iddrisu said.
He added that there had been meetings with the Majority Leader, and they agreed that “probably we should get a retired jurist or a retired member of Parliament with good standing on account.”
In his response, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, said there is an existing committee to the effect and the Public Accounts Committee must present a report on their work for consideration by the house.
The Speaker further said he has not received any briefing from the EC on its plans to use the data of the NIA for the elections.
He noted until such is done, the EC “should forget about laying any such instrument in the House.”
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described former President John Mahama’s speech on the state of the economy as a desperate attempt to return to power.
The former President on Thursday, October 27, 2022, described current economic challenges as the worst Ghana has ever witnessed and recommended amongst other things a cut down in government expenditure as a measure to restore fiscal stability.
But the ruling party says the alternatives proffered are not relevant to the challenges faced by the country.
In an interview with Citi News, Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, Haruna Mohammed, indicated that the recommendations are much ado about nothing.
“It is rather unfortunate that listening to His Excellency the former president, you do not hear any pointy alternatives. They are all lamentations and rhetorics, all desperate attempts to return to power. But then, as always has been, Ghana is a democratic state and accepts diverse opinions, so we will allow such views to pass through.”
Meanwhile, the party is urging Ghanaians to remain steadfast as government takes steps to address the teething challenges facing the economy.
“We have a working government and team and are tirelessly working towards economic recovery,” he added.
As part of measures to mitigate the effects of the depreciation of the cedi, a political science analyst, Prof. John Osei Bobbie, has asked government to implement some trade restrictions.
This request comes weeks after traders in Accra closed their shops to protest the current economic conditions.
The closure came after the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) directed all members to embark on a three-day strike to protest the current economic conditions.
Some traders who spoke to Atinka News at Abbosey Okai lamented the depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar, adding that it is making it difficult for most traders to stay in business.
In an interview with the host of Atinka FM’s AM Drive, Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Prof. John Osei Bobbie, called for the suspension of imported goods that can be produced locally.
According to the political science analyst, government should see to it that traders import goods that cannot be readily produced in Ghana.
Citing toilet rolls as an example, Prof. John Osei Bobbie did not see the sense in importing the product when it is already being produced locally.
“There are some goods that, after being imported, end up at the dam site, despite the fact that we send millions of dollars to import them.” It’s past time to impose trade restrictions on some products imported into the country. These are some of the reasons why MPs want a new Finance Minister. Why should we spend dollars to import toilet rolls into the country when we can produce them locally? The importation of certain goods into the country must be halted,” he added.
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