TIG Post

Author: Phoebe Martekie Doku

  • Government seeks to amend policy and legislative environment for credit unions – Deputy Labour Minister

    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.

    Government seeks to amend policy and legislative environment for credit unions – Deputy Labour Minister

    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.

    Government seeks to amend policy and legislative environment for credit unions – Deputy Labour Minister

    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.

  • Government releases feeding funds to Buffer Stock Company, SHSs

    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.

    Find below the full statement

     

     

  • Minority demands clarity on EC’s voter identity data

    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.”

  • ‘Mahama’s recommendations are much ado about nothing’ – NPP

    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.

     

     

     

  • Economic crisis: Suspend importation of goods that can be made locally – Government told

    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.

     

  • Mahama calls for legislations to ban collateralisation of statutory fund

    Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has called on parliament to pass legislations that will stop governments from using statutory fund as collateral for loans.

    He said the “wanton collateralisation” of almost all statutory funds for the purpose of taking more loans had been unhelpful.

    It had limited the financial capacity of the funds set up to help government meet basic obligations, the former President said Thursday evening in an address on the economy hardship in the country on the theme: “The Ghana we want”.

    The situation, he said would inhibit the chances of future governments to run successful administration due to limited access to financial resources.

    “Government should de-securitise these funds and add them onto the public debt as part of the discussions on debt restructuring,” he said.

    Mr Mahama estimated that freeing the funds from the burden of collateralisation and the renegotiation of energy sector Independent Power Producer Payment (IPP) payment could guarantee government access to revenue of about GH¢ 16 billion in 2023 to GH¢ 19.4 billion in 2025.

    “This will significantly ease the cash-crunch, which has crippled many sectors resulting in government’s inability to meet such basic obligations as supplying food to secondary schools and providing textbooks for basic schools, ” he said.

    Mr Mahama called for a moratorium on all non-concessional borrowing, canvassing bilateral partners for more concessional financing and grants and a stop to Central Bank’s financing of government above the five per cent threshold, especially through currency printing.

    He also called on government to leverage its competitive advantage in the energy sector to partner the private sector and mobilise the needed infrastructure and investment to export energy to other west African countries and save foreign exchange due to limited importation.

    “It is regrettable that in the last six years, government has been unable to bring any new oil or gas prospects into operation,” he noted.

     

  • Lawyer Ralph Poku-Adusei donates GHC50,000 to support Kokofu Community Centre and Okogyeasuo JHS works

    A private legal practitioner and indigene of the Kokofu Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region, Ralph Poku-Adusei, has donated GHC50,000 to officials of the Kokofu Traditional Area to support two construction projects in the local district.

    The two projects under construction are the Kokofu Community Centre and a teacher’s bungalow at Okogyeasuo Junior High School, both situated in the heart of the traditional area.

    GHC30,000 from the donation will go to contractors working on the Kokofu Community Centre and GHC20,000 to those executing the teacher’s bungalow at Okogyeasuo Junior High School.

    Ralph Poku-Adusei (second from right) with members of his family during the presentation

    The donation was made on Thursday 27 October 2022 by Lawyer Poku-Adusei at a sitting of the Kokofu Traditional Council.

    Nkabomhene

    Nana Kwadwo Ateffah, Nkabomhene of the Kokofu Traditional Area, led the lawyer and members of the Poku-Adusei family to make the presentation.

    In his remarks before the actual presentation, the Nkabomhene of Kokofu said Lawyer Poku-Adusei, as an indigene of Kokofu and member of a royal family with a claim to the Kokofu paramountcy, sees the urgent need to complete the construction of the local community centre for the people of the area and the teacher’s bungalow at Okogyeasuo JHS.

    That, the Nkabomhene said, is what motivated him to support the projects with the donation.

    Gratitude of Kokofu

    The linguist to Barima Offe Akwasi Okogyeasuo II, the paramount chief of the Kokofu Traditional Area, received the donation on the chief’s behalf.

    The chief then registered to him the gratitude of the people of Kokofu for Lawyer Ralph Poku-Adusei’s kind gesture.

    Barima Offe Akwasi Okogyeasuo directed his linguist to advance the cash donation to the two contractors working on the projects, who were both present at the ceremony, so that they could use the cash immediately for the purpose intended.

    Profile of Ralph Poku-Adusei

    Ralph Poku-Adusei is the managing partner at Trent Legal (Amansie Chambers).

    He is a British-trained and well-seasoned legal practitioner with over 11 years’ experience in all facets of corporate and commercial practice, land acquisition and criminal practice, and has been intimately involved in leading landmark litigation.

    Throughout his years as a lawyer, he has advised and represented successfully both local and international clients working in Ghana. He is a member of the Ghana Bar, the Bar of England and Wales and the International Bar Association.

    His alma maters include the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in the UK, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Law in the UK (formerly the College of Law of England and Wales), the Ghana School of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana and Opoku Ware SHS (OWASS)..

    He doubles as an entrepreneur with over ten years in business leadership. He is the owner of First Cedi Investment Ltd, a real estate development company, and the proprietor of Firstcedi Micro-Credit Enterprise, which provides lending services to the communities within and around the municipality of Bekwai in the Ashanti Region.

    Lawyer Poku-Adusei is a relentless optimist, an effective communicator and a motivator who identifies and leverages assets in teammates to reach organisational goals.

    His academic and entrepreneurial prowess notwithstanding, he is a philanthropist who believes in giving back to society. As such, in 2018, he set up a non-governmental organisation called the Ralph Poku-Adusei Foundation to provide humanitarian support services to the poor and needy/less privileged in society.

    Lawyer Ralph Poku-Adusei

    This organisation has been of great benefit to orphans, widows, widowers and the aged in the Bekwai community.

    Lawyer Poku-Adusei hails from the Oyoko family of Kokofu in the Ashanti Region. He is married to Gloria Gyan-Baffour, a daughter of Professor George Gyan-Baffour, the seasoned economist and politician. They are blessed with two children: a daughter and a son.

    About Kokofu

    Kokofu is a town in the Bekwai Municipal District. The traditional area is home to more than 118 towns, spread across four districts of the Ashanti Region.

    Cities, towns and well-known sites near Kokofu include Abooso, Adwinase Number 2 and Kuntanse. The name “Kokofu” originated from the expression “Koo-ko afuom”, meaning “soft cocoyam farm”.

    The place is a semi-developed settlement within the municipality. It hosts one tertiary institution: the Kokofu Nursing Training College, which has produced, over a period of time, a host of professional nurses for Ghana.

     

  • Non-gold royalties’ collection: EOCO joins MIIF inter-agency task force

    The Economic and Organized Crimes Office (EOCO) has joined efforts to improve royalty payments and collections due the state from the mining sector in Ghana.

    EOCO has thus become the newest member of a group of related agencies in the extractive and minerals sub sector led by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).

    MIIF is the statutory body that receives royalties on behalf of the state, manages the equity interest of Government of Ghana in large-scale mining companies. The Fund subsequently invests these dividends and royalties on behalf of the people of Ghana.

    The Inter Agency collaboration is borne out of a framework to enhance the collection of royalties, expand the royalties net and streamline communication on royalties’ payments especially from non-gold mining sector such as salt mining, sand winning, limestone, granite, and quarrying.

     Strategic collaboration  

    The collaboration which was initiated by MIIF in December 2021, has improved the efficiency in collections of non-gold royalties through collaborative efforts of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) which is responsible for the collection of royalties on behalf of MIIF, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) which assesses standards and accurate production measurements of minerals and the Minerals Commission (MINCOM), the regulator of the mining sector.

    The Inter-Agency committee comprises officials from the Minerals Commission, the regulator of the sector, Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

    The Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, welcomed the inclusion of EOCO to the Inter-Agency. “The inclusion of EOCO” Mr Koranteng indicated “adds a new dimension to this all-important initiative and we will leverage on their expertise and infrastructure to help identify and collect royalties from these mineral types”.

    Results so far

     “Payments of Royalties from quarries since we started this Inter-Agency Collaboration in December 2021 have gone up by over 100%.  For the first time in Ghana’s history, Sand Winners who had never paid royalties to the State are now making good their commitments and paying royalties.

    “The Salt and Limestone sectors are performing above 200% on pre-November 2021 figures. We could end the year at circa GHc 30 million which was lost to the state previously” Edward Koranteng said.

    The collaboration is also yielding reconciliation of data, collection of data and information sharing much quicker.  We are dilating on the same information and adopting a singular multifaceted strategy because we are all in one room thinking about solutions and efficiency.

    “This helps us to leverage our experiences for innovation. For example, through this inter-agency, the business development unit of MIIF has built a geo-mapping system covering most of the non-gold minerals.

    “We are working together, with the relevant laws and mandates leaving no room for exploitation by those who want to take advantage of the system by deliberately living in the crevasses. This is the true benefit of working together” Koranteng added.

    EOCO’s role

    The Economic and Organized Crime Office established by the Economic and Organized Crime Office Act, 2010 (Act 804) is a specialized agency to monitor and investigate economic crimes and on the authority of the Attorney-General prosecute these offences to recover the proceeds of crime and provide for related matters.

    “It has as part of its mission; detecting, investigating, preventing and prosecuting all serious economic and organized crimes in Ghana. The non-payment of royalties offends the law.

    “There are instances where some of the practices of companies in the mining sector border on clear attempts to evade their payment obligation through very complex schemes.

    “What EOCO further brings to the Inter- agency is a law enforcement muscle and also the ability to detect and investigate these practices” Koranteng said.

    The Executive Director of EOCO, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah stated that, “EOCO has a mandate to investigate crimes and prevent the occurrence of same”.

    “To be able to do this we need to better understand the mining sector to enable a full deployment of our resources, collect and package evidence professionally and to protect data collected.

    “This is what we bring to the Inter Agency Framework”. We are excited to be part of an all-government collaboration.” The EOCO boss said.

    About  MIIF

     MIIF is a sovereign minerals fund mandated by the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018, (Act 978) as amended, to maximize the value of dividend and royalties’ income accruing to the Republic of Ghana in a beneficial, accountable and sustainable manner and to monetize Ghana’s mineral wealth in a manner which would bring long term value to Ghana.

    MIIF also has 100% ownership of Agyapa Royalties Company, the only state-owned gold royalties company in Africa. MIIF has plans to list Agyapa on the London Stock Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange.

    MIIF has invested in the Toronto, Frankfurt and now Ghana listed Asante Gold Corporation which has just opened the lucrative Bibiani gold mine and is on the verge of acquiring the Kinross Chirano gold mine in Ghana.

    The acquisition will create one of the largest gold mining companies in West Africa. MIIF is also planning to invest in lithium and other upcoming gold projects.

  • BizTech: ‘When the fundamentals are weak, the exchange rate will expose you’ – Economist

    An economist at the University of Ghana, Prof. Godfred Alufar, has reiterated Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia‘s stance on the weak state of Ghana’s exchange rate.

    According to him, the depreciation of the local currency is due to fundamental factors that must be tackled.

    The Ghana cedi has come under intense pressure in recent times as it fell by more than 50% to the US dollar to sell at an all-time high of GH¢16.

    In this week’s edition of BizTech, Prof. Bokpin highlighted the importance for the government to act swiftly to arrest the cedi.

    He also explained that Ghana’s economic crisis cannot be solved by ‘magic’, therefore pragmatic steps must be taken to ensure that the crisis comes to an end.

    On calls for the resignation of the Finance Minister, Prof Bokpin said, “that is not the only change we want. Beyond that, it will not amount to so much just changing the finance minister. We must go a step further and reduce the number of ministers and the government size overall, including the staff at the presidency.”

    He also stated that the government must fast-track its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund in order to secure the expected financial support as soon as possible.

     

  • Don’t target domestic creditors in debt restructuring – Ato Forson to government

    The Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson says targeting domestic creditors in a possible debt restructuring will hurt the Ghanaian economy.

    Ghana’s debt stood at GH¢402.4billion as of July 2022.

    According to Dr. Forson, debt relief in excess of GH¢200 billion is needed to make Ghana’s current debt sustainable.

    Speaking at the “Building the Ghana We Want” lecture at the University of Professional Studies, Accra on Thursday, October 27, 2022, the former Deputy Finance Minister admonished the government to avoid a mickey mouse form of debt restructuring.

    “One of the biggest dilemmas in solving debt restructuring is the extent to which the burden should be borne by holders of the debt instrument governed by domestic and foreign laws and that’s what people call domestic foreign debt restructuring. Restructuring domestic dent is like surgery, you only do it if you must and you avoid it if it might do more harm than good. It is a dangerous tool,” Dr. Ato Forson stated.

    He added: Restructuring your domestic debt should be thought through well. Imagine the consequences of haircuts. On the face value of your interest on your bond, imagine waking up one early morning only to be told that your GH¢1 million in government bond has suddenly become GH¢700,000 to the extent that the government has taken GH¢300,000 of your money, imagine that! Pension funds will suffer a drop in value.”

    “Tier 2 and Tier 3 pension payout will drop from already low levels. Tier 1 SSNIT reserve will drop in value, SSNIT capacity to pay pensions will certainly suffer, and Insurance companies’ reserves will fall with implication for benefit payment, unfortunately. Local banks, other deposit-taking institutions, savings & loans, and rural banks will all suffer.”

     

  • Chief Justice advocates ban on acquisition of license by small-scale miners

    Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah has called for a ban on the acquisition of licenses by small-scale miners in the country. This, he said, will promote sanity in the country.

    His Lordship, Justice Baffoe-Bonney, who relayed the message on behalf of the Chief Justice, called for a complete stop to the issuance of licenses to small-scale mining companies. He urged licensed surveyors to master digitalization and adapt to changing times to remain relevant in the Association.

    The Chief Justice noted some “lazy” licensed surveyors contribute to the rising land litigation issues the country is dealing with.

    According to him, these roadside surveyors, who work without ethical standards, only sign plans for paltry amounts without thinking about the adverse effects of their actions.

    “I believe that for now, we should stop issuing licenses either for small-scale legitimate mining companies. It is difficult to know who is a legitimate miner and who is a “galamseyer”. Apart from the Obuasi, Prestea, the recognized Gold miners, for now, everybody should be banned so that we can have some sanity”.

    He added that the oath sworn by some licensed surveyors had become mere rhetoric.

    Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah said this at the 4th Seminar and Annual General Meeting of Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana.

    “Permit me to talk about the ethical standards that we are fast losing out on some licensed surveyors. The oath sword and same imprinted on plans before signing has remained mere rhetoric. I am very convinced, and it is my considered view that, if licensed surveyors appraise themselves with all the processes in the field, they shall append their signatures on true work done on the ground.

    His Lordship Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah also called for a strong collaboration between LiSAG and the judiciary to ensure a better working relationship.

    “I will call on LiSAG to deepen their collaboration with the judiciary. I know you have begun some engagements, and I urge you to design capacity-building workshops to train judges on the rudiments of your practice and the changing phase you so espouse.

    “The changing phase also means a new way of working with the judiciary to ensure sanity in land registration since the cadastral plan is one of the foremost documents to be relied on for the transactions.

    “We are ready to assign some of the licensed surveyors to our courts so that they can assist the judges understand the plans or maps before hearing and, in some cases, conduct an independent survey for contesting parties.”

    President of The License Surveyors Association of Ghana, LISAG, Samuel Larbi Darko, has cautioned land buyers in seeking the services of unlicensed individuals who pose as professional surveyors in the demarcation of lands and property. According to him, background checks from the lands commission or the License Association should be made on surveyors before any contract is made.

    This he said will ensure the protection of a contractor in case of a breach of law. He bemoaned the high cost of instrumentation and duties and called on government to support in financing of the Association.
    The event was held on the theme: “The Changing Phase of Cadastral Surveying for Effective Land Management”.

    Mr Larbi-Darko said before one engaged a surveyor to map out a land, the individual needed to ensure that the surveyor was licensed and registered to do a professional job.

    He stressed that that had become necessary due to the activities of “quack’ and unregistered surveyors in the system, whose unprofessional conduct was affecting the reputation and integrity of the profession.

    The Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana, LISAG, was initially thought of to address the welfare needs of its members. The Association came to being formally on the 14th of September, 2005, during a meeting at the headquarters of the then survey department in Accra. The licensed surveyor’s Association of Ghana has gone through a number of phases in its development as an Association.

    It has gained a lot of recognition due to its public position on issues of land management and its collaboration with the Land Commission. The Association, which started off as a welfare body for its members, has now morphed into an Association that is championing the national agenda.

    The Association has not had a change of leadership since its inception and only organized its first-ever elections at the last Annual General Meeting held in October 2021. Numbers have since grown to almost two hundred members, and with an innovative policy that is helping the course of its members.

    The Vice President of the international federation of surveys, Kwame Tenadu Snr, charged members of the Association to show commitment in the execution of their duties to make the association work. He advised them to prioritize digitalization to ensure efficiency in their duties.

    The head of decentralized services/ office of the local government services, Dr. Nana Ato Arthur, indicated that the activities of unqualified individuals posing as Licensed surveyors are negatively affecting land mapping in the various districts of the country. He charged stakeholders in the Association to be vigilant and report defaulters to face the full rigours of the law.

    He also urged the Association to collaborate with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to ensure proper land demarcation at the local level.

    “The activities of unqualified individuals have negatively affected the mapping processes within the districts. I wish to therefore charge all stakeholders to look out for such persons in an effort for them to face the full rigours of the law. I am told that some people get away with contentious plans through the connivance of professional licensed surveyors. This attitude is not professional. I, therefore, call on licensed surveyors not to append signatures on any fraudulent plans. Let us rise to a higher calling and ensure the highest ethical standard”.

    He said land management was a major challenge the MMDAs faced, hence the need to collaborate with them to ensure proper land mapping and usage.

    Licensed Surveyors are a body of authorized Surveyors poised to undertake the demarcation and survey of land for the preparation of cadastral plans on behalf of the Director Survey and mapping division of the Lands Commission.

  • We all have an interest in the NPP; we will not sit for you to destroy it – Kofi Kapito to Akufo-Addo

    The Chief Executive Officer of the Consumer Protection Agency, Kofi Owusu Hene, a.k.a. Kofi Kapito, has bemoaned the current state of his party, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

    Speaking in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Kofi Kapito accused the party’s leadership and council of elders of looking on unabated as some members, including President Akufo-Addo and his appointees, destroy the image of the party through their actions.

    He also bemoaned the failure of the NPP government to address the challenges Ghanaians are facing and the recent utterances of the president against persons who have been criticising his government.

    “… today, [the] president is telling his critics that he is unconcerned whether people vote for the NPP or not. I think he was not feeling well that day and so I will forgive him.

    “But what I am trying to say is that when it comes to the party (NPP), as they have been saying in their hometown that they will [not] sit for Okyeman to be destroyed, I, Kofi Kapito, will not sit aloof for the NPP to be destroyed,” he said in Twi.

    He went on to commend the NPP Members of Parliament (MPs) who demanded that President Akufo-Addo sacks the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, for his poor management of the economy.

    “God bless Eugene Antwi Antwi. God bless Patrick Boamah. Andy Appiah-Kubi, all of them, have done well for their courage to take this step,” he added.

  • M.anifest announces tracklist for ‘Madina To The Universe’ album

    Ghanaian rapper, M.anifest has released the tracklist for his much-anticipated album, “Madina To The Universe.”

    Speaking on the creation of the album, the GodMC hitmaker said “It’s been a painstaking journey molding these tracks into the beauties they are and stringing them together as one cohesive piece.”

    The album consists of 15 songs and features Ghana’s M3nsa and Moliy, Chicago-based rapper Vic Mensa; Nigeria’s Adekunle Gold, Patoranking and Ladipoe; as well as Tanzanian-born Tiggs da Author, who is based in London.

    The songs on the album include; MTTU, Confusion, Best for you, Game over, Unicorn flow, La vida, Clean and pure, among others.

    M.anifest announces tracklist for 'Madina To The Universe' album

    He also expressed gratitude to all who joined hands in making the album a success. “Grateful to all my collaborators for showing up and showing out,” he stated.

    ‘Madina To The Universe’ will be released on Thursday, November 18, 2021.

    According to musician, born Kwame Ametepe Tsikata in a tweet, ‘Madina To The Universe’ is inspired by the community he grew up in.

    “Madina is my ‘village’. A formative place for me as a child. Beyond memories, it is where my mom and grandma still live, alongside colourful people and places that have shaped the window through which I see the world.”

    M.anifest announces tracklist for 'Madina To The Universe' album

    M.anifest is an award-winning Ghanaian rapper and musician known for musical boundary crossing, multilingual wordplay, and a refreshing approach that acknowledges both his Ghanaian upbringing and his sojourn in the West.

    He has collaborated with musical giants such as Burna Boy, Damon Albarn (Gorillaz), Tiggs Da Author, Erykah Badu, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Tony Allen.

  • Ofori-Atta must go, I support NPP MPs’ demand – Agyeman-Duah

    A Governance Expert Professor Baffuor Agyeman-Duah has said he supports the call by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament to the President to sack his Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry Charles Adu Boahen.

    Prof Agyemang Duah said he personally made this call in the past when the economy started deteriorating.

    Speaking in an interview with TV3’s Alfred Ocansey on the Ghana Tonight show, the CEO of the Kufuor Foundation said “I will be a hypocrite if I say I don’t agree [with the calls] because personally, I have made this call over the past several months since the economic started nose down.”

    Pressure is being mounted on President Akufo-Addo by some Ghanaians including his own Members of Parliament, to sack the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Mr Adu Boahen.

    The Majority caucus in Parliament have threatened to boycott the presentation and debate on the 2023 budget statement if President Akufo-Addo does not remove Mr Ofori-Atta and Adu Boahen.

    The NPP MPs believe that the prevailing economic situation in the country does not make it right for the two gentlemen to remain in office hence the President must ask them to go.

    Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, October 25, a lawmaker for Asante Akyem North, Andy Appiah Kubi said “We are unhappy with the developments in the country, we consulted our constituents who also expressed same sentients.

    “We want the President to remove Ken Ofori and Chares Adu Boahen.

    “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.

    “We hope that those of us in the back bench and members of the Majority caucus will abide by this prayer.

    “We are saying that if our request is not responded to positively, we will not be present for the budget hearing neither will we participate in the debate.

  • Delay in posting physician assistants to health facilities is bad – Physician Assistant Association

    The Ghana Physician Assistant Association says continuous delay in posting physician assistants to health facilities is derailing the country’s effort to achieving universal health coverage by 2030.

    The Association observed whilst some health facilities in hard-to-reach areas that are in dire need of the services of physician assistants, qualified PAs remain home awaiting placement.

    “Delay in getting financial clearance for qualified Physician Assistants is arguably the main reason for the large numbers of unemployed Physician Assistants. I want to use this opportunity to make a passionate appeal to the Ministries of Health and Finance to expedite the processes leading to the issuance of financial clearance and subsequent employment of these qualified healthcare cadres” President of the Association, Emmanuel Yaw Appiah noted.

    He was speaking at the 19th Annual General Conference of the Ghana Physician Assistants Association.

    Most health facilities in the country are manned by physician assistants.

    These cadre of healthcare professionals handle about 70% of the health needs of rural and underserved populations.

    They consult, request for laboratory investigations, prescribe medication, and perform minor surgeries among other responsibilities.

    But the Ghana Physician Assistants Association expressed concern over what they claim to be proper recognition.

    “Although the Physician Assistant remains a key player and actor in the health care delivery machinery especially at the Sub-district level, not much has been done through policy formulation and implementation to capacitate and resource the Physician Assistant to function effectively and efficiently at the Sub-district level, the fulcrum and vehicle for the attainment of Universal Health Coverage for all.

    “it is unfortunate to note that despite the many years of existence of the PA Profession, there has not been any properly established career progression pathway in the
    profession. It is our hope that the current deliberations on-going amongst the officials of the
    Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, Medical and Dental Council of Ghana, the Academia and Ghana Physician Assistant Association (GPAA) will bring about the establishment of clear career and academic pathways for the PA profession”

    The Association is also unhappy with what they described as unfavorable policies by their regulator, the Medical and Dental Council (MDC).

    “Most of our members are demanding that we exit the MDC and get a new regulatory body to that will supervise and manage the affairs of physician assistants. The MDC always formulate policies that serve the interest on medical officers at the expense of physician assistants. So there is huge pressure on leadership for a slip because of the kind of things the regulator has done”, Mr Appiah said.

    The 3-day conference which afforded members the opportunity to deliberate on their challenges and way forward into the future was themed “Strengthening and Maximizing the sub district level for effective, efficient and equitable healthcare service delivery: The role of the stakeholder”.

  • Stephen Ntim is not a timid soul – NPP

    A Deputy Director of Communications of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kamal Deen Abdullah, has clapped back at the party’s Former Deputy General Secretary, Nana Obiri Boahen after the latter described the National Chairman, Stephen Ntim as a timid soul.

    Nana Obiri Boahen, has criticized the approach used by the National Chairman, Stephen Ntim in handling the agitations of some NPP MPs asking for the dismissal of Ken Ofori-Atta and Charles Adu Boahen.

    He said in an interview with Okay FM that the never-before-seen action of the MPs could create political instability if not handled well.

    Obiri Boahen stated that he expected the NPP chairman to have held a crunch meeting with the party leadership and its steering committee and informed them about how dire the situation was rather than issuing a holding statement.

    “This is not the usual NPP and NDC politics on who did this or who did that. This is a very serious national issue that goes down to national stability of the country and western democracy. It is scary. Nothing like this has happened before in Ghana ever since Don Diego Di Azambuja landed in Ghana.

    “It’s nearing 100 out of 138 MPs if you just add 20. And the chairman of the party says…what are you coming to do? Stephen Ntim what are you coming to do? If you are a timorous soul; please get out of politics. If you don’t have courage; exit politics. Stephen Ntim as the chairman of the party….this thing is scary for the party.

    “The statement you issued; you have said you will hold a crunch meeting with the National Executive Committee and steering committee this Friday to inform them about the development. You said in your statement that ‘party leadership will control’… what will you control? What is coming is scary,” he said.

    But Kamal Deen Abdullah who’s also a spokesperson for Chairman Stephen Ntim, responding to the comments by Nana Obiri Boahen in an interview on Okay FM took exception to the description of Chairman Ntim as “timid” saying it does not define who he is.

    Urging Nana Obiri Boahen to retract the word, Kamal Deen Abdullah described Chairman Ntim as a bold and courageous person but as an experienced politician, he (chairman) also applies diplomacy and tact in handling issues when necessary for positive results.

    “Chairman Ntim needed to engage with the disgruntled MPs to ensure there’s peace in the party and government. He needed to handle the matter using a good approach that will prevent further tension in the party and government and that is exactly what he did.

    “Chairman Stephen Ntim believes is jaw-jawing it is not always that one has to be confrontational. We have governance to take care of, we have a party to take care of, and also a parliament to take care of. There are certain things you have to look at the timing and get your actions right. He acted well and at the right time.”

    Kamal Deen Abdullah added that the Stephen Ntim led-National Executive body has a way of strategizing to ensure there’s always peace and unity in the party and further urged party members to be patient with leadership and believe in them to lead the party into victory in 2024 elections.”

    On Tuesday, October 25, about 80 NPP MPs held a press conference to demand the dismissal of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen.

    They argued that new persons when appointed to take the place of the duo will bring back the needed confidence in the economy which is struggling.

    The Member of Parliament for the Asante-Akim North Constituency, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, who spoke on behalf of the MPs threatened to boycott the 2023 budget reading and debate if President Akufo-Addo fails to dismiss the two ministers.

    But the NPP in a statement signed by Stephen Ntim said it was engaging with the government, the Parliamentary Group, and other stakeholders and called for calm.

    The president subsequently held a meeting with MPs and party leadership where it was agreed that the duo especially Ken Ofori-Atta is allowed to stay in office to conclude negotiations with the IMF.

     

     

  • Don’t allow GES staff to supervise WASSCE again -Africa Education Watch to WAEC

    Education think tank, Africa Education Watch, is admonishing the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) to stop the use of supervisors from the Ghana Education Service (GES) and solely use external supervisors during the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

    The group made the call at the launch of its 2022 WASSCE monitoring report.

    “The low number of supervisors that were appointed by WAEC was a huge challenge in the supervision of the just-ended WASSCE. WAEC must end the use of GES staff as supervisors and use external agents to supervise the WASSCE”, Programme Officer at the Africa Education Watch, Kwasi Nimo Jnr. stressed.

    He also said, findings showed that centers that had GES supervisors recorded high cases of exam malpractice.

    This he says is problematic as the country strives to fight the canker of examination malpractices, hence, the reversal of the practice.

    “GES staff cannot be made to supervise their own students with an interest for them to pass to enhance their own KPIs. This is what we are recommending because our monitoring report showed that, whenever there are WAEC supervisors on the ground, there is orderliness and no cheating”.

    The education think tank added that the Ministry of Education (MOE) and WAEC should re-negotiate the fees for invigilators and supervisors to realistic levels and ensure prompt payments.

    The report revealed that the involvement of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) contributed greatly to the low incidence of question leakages.

    It also called on the Ministry of Education to explore the possibility of providing access to market-led, pre-university distance programs for candidates who score at least E8 in all subjects to improve and pursue other careers.

     

  • Appointment of Eric Nkansah as GES boss good idea – ATAG

    A teacher union group known as All Teachers Alliance Ghana (ATAG) is describing the move by some teacher Unions to kick against the appointment of the new Director General of Ghana Education Service(GES), Dr. Eric Nkansah, as impulsive.

    This comes on the back of the president’s appointment of Dr. Eric Nkansah as the new Director General of the Ghana Education Service.

    According to the union, Dr. Eric Nkansah’s appointment is proper and timely.

    Speaking to Citi News, the National Chairman of ATAG, Isaac Ofori said he believes that the new Director General has come to make room for “smart and capable young teachers who have been excluded from power structures and decision-making processes at the education service.”

     

  • Take stringent measures to fight ailing economy – Citizen Coalition to gov’t

    The Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance wants the government to immediately take stern measures in solving the current economic challenges facing the country.

    This comes after several complaints by the citizenry and several civil societies about the high prices of goods and services, the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar, and calls for the resignation of the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta are clear indicators that the country is battling economic mishaps.

    Outlining some measures including the resignation of the Finance Minister, and the reshuffling of ministers and their deputies, the Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at the Centre for Democratic Development and a member of the coalition, Dr. Kojo Pumpuni Asante said government must find ways to cut down on expenditure to revive the economy and gain public trust.

    “This crisis offers us a rare opportunity to take bold and courageous steps that will not only restore confidence and repair the strained relationship between state citizens and government, but also help charge a pathway forward through the crisis. We think there are specific morale-boosting actions that should signal readiness, which includes subjecting its leadership to accountability, cutting expenditures, plugging leakages in government spending, and tackling corruption in this regard.”

    “We fully endorse the call by many citizens, the majority of NPP MPs, and many well-meaning Ghanaians, who have asked for the disposal of the Finance Minister and his deputies.”

    “The President should urgently take morale-boosting measures by reshuffling his ministers. Given what has transpired over the last year, it is evident that they have not been excellent, contrary to the President’s assessment”.

    The coalition also known as the Citizens Coalition indicated that the government has lost the trust of bringing back the economy despite the current negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, thus fighting in gaining back the trust should be their focus instead of the current political gimmicks.

    “There is a broken trust between the government and its citizens. That trust has to be rebuilt. And one of the actions that have to be rebuilt really needs to be with the finance minister. The finance minister has to be held accountable. It is a trust-building measure.”

    “So whatever the government is going to do for us citizens to think that they are acting with credibility, they are serious about going forward, it has to be something that is substantial and definite and that’s why everybody says the Finance Minister. He is in charge of the economy, so he must be held accountable. I’m sure the other capable people can continue with the work”.

     

  • Here is what to expect from parliament next week

    Seven ministers are expected to appear before the house to respond to questions, which include urgent and oral questions.

    The ministers expected to appear are the Minister for the Volta Region, Minister for the Interior, Minister for Food and Agriculture, Minister for Health, Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Minister for Railways Development, and Minister for Roads and Highways.

    The ministers will respond to over 40 questions during the week.

    Aside from that, motions may be debated and their consequential resolutions, if any, taken during the week.

    The Business Committee urged Ministers of State to endeavour to attend the House to respond to questions whenever they are scheduled to do so.

    Also, some presentations of papers are expected this week, which include the Annual Report of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission for 2020; the Reconciliation Report on the Petroleum Holding Fund for the year 2021; and the Annual Public Debt Management Report for the year 2021, among others.

    Aside from that, motions may be debated and their consequential resolutions, if any, taken during the week.

  • Mahama’s ‘Building the Ghana We Want’ lecture was a lamentation of his own failures – Deputy Majority Whip

    The Deputy Majority Chief Whip of the 8th Parliament, Habib Iddrisu, has described the ‘Building the Ghana We Want’ lecture by ex-President John Dramani Mahama as a useless exercise.

    According to him, the former president failed to proffer any tangible solution to the country’s challenges.

    In a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Habib Iddrisu added that Mahama only engaged in mere fabrications and lamentations of his own failures as president.

    “Yesterday, I literally wasted my time listening to the ex-president. I listened throughout his speech, and I couldn’t actually understand. In fact, it was very empty. In fact, it was a lamentation of his own mistakes.

    “At the end of the day, there is nothing new that he said yesterday that he had not said before. His presentation was empty in terms of facts. It was empty in terms of data. It was a lamentation of his own mistakes,” he said.

    He reiterated that the former president did not give any solution to the challenges in the country, adding that, left to him alone, the Akufo-Addo government would not give any attention to the statements Mahama made.

    Meanwhile, former President John Dramani Mahama, while delivering the lecture at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, UPSA; lamented the state in which Ghana finds itself economically, stressing that the buck stops with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

    He holds, however, that Akufo-Addo has refused serially to take responsibility for the current mess.

    Mahama said that the country had been left to ministers who were performing below par but who the president insists are ‘excellent.’

    He recalled an incident last December where Akufo-Addo said the economic challenges were “not my fault; he refuses to take responsibility,” Mahama stressed.

    The former president insisted that mismanagement was at the heart of the current crisis and not a pandemic or war, “Ghana has been turned into a family heirloom,” Mahama noted.

    According to him, the National Democratic Congress remained ready to share pragmatic steps on how to deal with the current challenges despite the refusal of the New Patriotic Party government to seek support, even if through back channels.

     

  • NPP MP seeks interpretation of Bagbin’s ruling on Adwoa Safo, others at Supreme Court

    The Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano North on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sulemana Adamu Sanid, has dragged the ruling of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to the Supreme Court.

    The MP is seeking the apex court’s interpretation of the ruling of the Speaker on the matter of absenteeism by his three colleagues.

    The three MPs are Sarah Adwoa Safo, Kennedy Agyapong, and Henry Quartey of the Dome Kwabenya, Assin Central, and Ayawaso Central constituencies, respectively.

    According to a report by graphic.com.gh, the Ahafo Ano North MP, Sulemana Adamu Sanid, is seeking the Supreme Court’s interpretation on the matter because he disagrees with the verdict of the Speaker of Parliament.

    The report added that the NPP MP said he wants “the Supreme Court to clarify the operationalisation of Article 97 (1) (c) to be sure if the ruling by the Speaker of Parliament was in consonance with the 1992 Constitution.”

    Andy Kwame Appiah-Appiah, who is counsel for the MP, said his client believes that a determination has already been made by the Court of Appeal, being the precedence as was in the case of Kwaku Asare [Kwaku Azar] vs. Attorney General.

    He is said to have said that in such an instance, as has been determined to have been the case of the three absentee MPs, an “automatic vacation of the seat” should apply and that the only job for the Committee of Privileges in Parliament is for the affected MP(s) to explain why they were absent.

    He added that the only work, in this matter, that the Privileges Committee – which looked into the absenteeism of the MPs -, had to play was to look at the “reasonableness or otherwise of the explanation without more,” as mandated by the 1992 constitution.

    In his ruling on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, Alban Bagbin concluded his 18-page report by stating that parliament should receive the report of the committee and have its contents debated upon.

    This was however not pleasant news to the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who immediately got up to challenge the Speaker of Parliament, describing his ruling as “unfortunate.”

  • We’re deceiving ourselves with galamsey fight if politicians behind it aren’t arrested – Asantehene

    The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has once again berated the government for failing to take the needed steps to curb the menace of illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey.

    According to the Asantehene, the government knows the politicians and government officials who are financing galamsey activities but has failed to arrest them, and it is rather arresting and prosecuting galamseyers, who are mere tools being used by these politicians.

    He added that if the government does not start arresting persons who finance galamsey activities, it will never be able to stop the menace.

    “We all know that the galamsey we are all talking about is being championed by some Ghanaians and these Chinese and other nationals they bring in. You are pretending as if you don’t know the people who are into it, but you know all of them.

    “You are always arresting galamseyers at the sites, but who takes the gold away? Do the illegal miners on the field have the money to buy the excavators they are using; can they afford the chamfans? It is someone who has bought these equipments for them. The illegal miners are people who don’t have jobs and have been employed by these financers and are being paid daily. What have they done wrong?

    “Government officials, politicians are all implicit in the galamsey menace. They have all bought these excavators and the chamfans… If we don’t arrest them, then we are deceiving ourselves with this fight against galamsey,” he said in Twi at the Manhyia Palace as he was receiving a document on galamsey from the Multimedia Group.

    The Asantehene said that the very thing about galamsey is that it is destroying water sources for many people.

    He added that if galamsey is not stopped, it will very soon contaminate the country’s cocoa which will have a devastating effect on Ghana’s economy because no country will accept Ghana’s cocoa exports.

    Meanwhile, the pollution of water bodies by galamsey seems to be getting to the sea.

    A viral video sighted by GhanaWeb showed how galamsey activities had heavily polluted parts of the Atlantic Ocean along the Central Region.

    The narrator in the video indicated that the sea, which was looking brownish, was being polluted by galamsey water from the Pra River.

    “I’m here at Awona beach, off the Cape Coast road towards Takoradi. You can see the ocean over here. See how brown it is. That is all from the River Pra. That is all muddy matters from galamsey actives.

    “See all the way over there, the Pra River all the way, all this water is brown. All galamsey water,” he said.

     

  • Highlights of John Mahama’s address on Ghana’s economy

    John Dramani Mahama, the 2020 presidential candidate of the country’s main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), addressed the nation on Thursday, October 27, 2022, from Accra.

    The event, dubbed ‘Building the Ghana We Want,’ allowed the former president of Ghana to diagnose what he believed are the current problems the country is facing, as well as proffer solutions to how to make them better.

    Reading a 39-page address at the UPSA Hall in Accra, the former president outlined a number of issues that he believes can save the country from further economic mess if the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government implores them.

    Below are highlights of his speech as put together by GhanaWeb:

    1. Reducing the public debt, debt service obligations and creating fiscal space

    “The biggest problem with our economy today is the huge size of our public debt, estimated to be around GH¢ 522 billion by close of this year. This must immediately be tackled and stopped from growing further.

    “To achieve this:
    1) An immediate moratorium must be placed on all non-concessional borrowing.
    2) Government must actively canvass our bilateral partners for more concessional financing and grants.
    3) There must be a stop to Central Bank financing of government above the 5% threshold. The current printing of money to finance Government’s deficit is further fueling inflation.
    4) Government must stop collateralizing statutory funds for the purpose of taking on more loans. The wanton collateralization has been unhelpful.”

    2. Cutting cost, reducing waste, and spending wisely

    Under this, he called for the down-streaming of the size of ministers, secretariats and agencies, the cutting down of the budget of the Office of the President, check waste in government expenditure and corruption, the suspension of non-essential projects, and a call for greater transparency in public procurement.

    “It is a notorious fact that corruption has defeated the Akufo-Addo government. In fact, it is fair to say that there has never really been a fight against corruption under Akufo-Addo.

    “The graft and misapplication of public funds by government appointees call for radical action and not shielding of perpetrators, as we have sadly witnessed in the last few years.”

    3. Stabilizing the currency, cutting the import bill and job creation

    While expanding this point, John Dramani Mahama called for a consideration of the Operation Feed Yourself program of 1976, as a measure of sustaining progress in agricultural production, with a focus on small scale producers.

    He also called for the Akufo-Addo government to leverage on the country’s energy and petroleum sectors to help shore up the economy.

    “We do enormous damage to our currency, the cedi, and our economy, when we spend billions of dollars on the importation of rice, sugar, tomato products, frozen fish, poultry, meat products and vegetable cooking oils.

    “Yet we have more than the potential to produce here to feed ourselves and even export. It is estimated that forex outlay for food products for which we have a comparative advantage to produce locally amounts to some $3 billion every year.

    “It is said that out of adversity comes opportunity. Restriction of importation of some of these products, side-by-side with increased local production, is a realistic proposition that we need to begin to consider.”

    What Ghanaians can do to support the economy:

    President John Dramani Mahama however called on the citizenry to play a critical role in all of this.

    Basing his call for domestication, he urged people to patronize more local products and avoid the needs to patronize things from overseas.

    “While responsibility for the difficulties we face lie with the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia government, there are things we can do as citizens in our own small way to minimize the suffering we are going through and help Government turn the situation around.

    “A good way to start will be to regulate and minimize out expenditure by sticking to only the things that we really need. As much as possible, we need to acquire and sustain a taste and preference for locally manufactured products.

    “If we must buy consumables or food products, let us choose that rice or chicken that is produced locally so that it doesn’t become necessary to find millions of dollars to import the same items.

    “Let us consciously eat more of our local foods like yam, local grains, cassava, beans, local fruits, and vegetables. That way, we reduce demand for foreign currency, reduce the pressure on our own currency and boost domestic production to create a win-win situation.

    “Cut down on non-essential foreign travel and cut down on expensive foreign products in our homes. If there ever was a time to be thrifty, this is it!”

     

  • It is time to re-visit Acheampong’s ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ – Mahama

    Ex-President John Dramani Mahama has stated that Ghana must return to the ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ policy implemented by its one-time military leader, General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, in the 1970s.

    According to the former president, even though General Acheampong had his faults, his ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ policy was largely successful because it led to the country producing virtually everything it eats.

    The former president said that Ghana cannot continue to export food that it can produce because it is one of the main reasons for the Ghana Cedi’s continuous depreciation and the high inflation in the prices of food items.

    Mahama, who made these remarks during the presentation of his ‘Building the Ghana We Want’ lecture, said that Ghana spends nearly $3 billion annually to import food it can produce locally which is very worrying.

    “General Acheampong, despite the depraved corruption that swallowed him up in later years, was off to a good start in the early part of his regime. His “Operation Feed yourself” and “Operation feed your Industries” programmes yielded massive results during the period from 1972 through to 1976.

    “We do enormous damage to our currency, the cedi, and our economy, when we spend billions of dollars on the importation of rice, sugar, tomato products, frozen fish, poultry, meat products and vegetable cooking oils.

    “Yet we have more than the potential to produce here to feed ourselves and even export,” he said.

    Mahama proposed that the government must put measures in place to support large-scale commercial agricultural production to achieve food self-sufficiency because supporting small-scale farming is not enough.

     

  • Court adjourns Sarfo Kantanka bribery case to 27 February 2023

    A Kumasi High Court has adjourned the alleged bribery case, involving Alexander Sarfo Kantanka, the ex-nominee for the position of Chief Executive for the Juaben Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti region.

    Kantanka was alleged to have paid monies to some assembly members to influence them to confirm his nomination by President Akufo-Addo.

    The case was adjourned to 27 February 2023, after the court granted a request by the prosecution to hear the case omnibus.

    “The prosecution had pleaded with the court to fix the trial for a week to help reduce the risk and cost of travelling from Accra to Kumasi for the trials and that request was granted.

    The judge also fixed 28 February, 1 March and 2 March for the hearing”, reported Asaase News’ Jonathan Ofori.

    Meanwhile, a second prosecution witness Prince Opong Kyekyeku an assembly member for Bomfa Ahenbronum electoral area mounted the box and was cross-examined by the counsel for the accused person, Denis Osei Antwi.

    Oppong Kyekyeku has also denied receiving a bribe from the accused person.

    He, however, recalled that he received an amount of GHC1000 from a personal assistant of the accused person to take a mentally challenged person to the hospital.

    Amadu Emmanuel Basintale, who represented the Office of the Special Prosecutor, told journalists after the proceedings at the court that the prosecution intended to call five witnesses for the trial.

    They would include three assembly members, a police officer, and an officer from the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

     

  • Police arrest 29 suspects over Ashaiman violent clashes

    At least 29 suspects have been picked up by the police for their involvement in violent clashes between two factions at New Tulaku, Ashaiman, in the Greater Accra Region in the small hours of Friday (28 October 2022).

    Initial investigation has disclosed that a misunderstanding between two rival factions at the New Tulaku meat market resulted in the attack in which six people sustained various degrees of injuries, the police said in a statement.

    The injured are currently at the hospital receiving medical attention, and are all in stable condition, according to the medical authorities.

    The suspects in the Ashaiman violence | Photo: Ghana Police Service
    The suspects in the Ashaiman violence | Photo: Ghana Police Service

    The police have since restored calm and deepened personnel presence at Ashaiman and its environs.

    Investigation continues and all those involved will be brought to justice, the police added.

  • PARDA engages stakeholders on sexual and gender-based violence in Walewale

    The Participatory Action for Rural Development Alternatives (PARDA), a non-governmental organisation engaged stakeholders on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as part of many activities under the ‘Power to Choose (P2C) Project’.

    The dialogue aims to promote stronger stakeholder commitment to protecting and assisting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

    It is also to highlight best practices and lessons learned for enhancing the response to SGBV. The meeting brought together GHS, GES, DOVVSU, NCCE, CHRAJ, and traditional, religious, and youth leaders.

    Emmanuel Abazaami, the monitoring and evaluation officer of PARDA said, for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) issues to be properly addressed, it is imperative for community and district-level stakeholders to dialogue to spell out the real issues and possibly identify critical spots for collaboration.
    This, he believes will improve stakeholder commitment to protecting people at risk and assisting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

    “To meet our agenda, we need to involve stakeholders who are into sexual and reproductive health,” he said.

    The seven-year project seeks to support individuals whose sexual and reproductive rights are most constrained (young people, especially adolescent girls and young women, unmarried people, and people living with disabilities in and out of school) to exercise and enjoy their sexual and reproductive health and related rights.

  • Alban Bagbin pushes for continuous education of MPs on parliamentary tacts

    The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has underscored the need for members of the house to be educated on how motions are couched.

    This comes after an objection raised by the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markin against a motion of vote of censure on the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

    “We need to sit together, dialogue and exchange views on the constitution and standing orders for the practice and procedures of the house”, he said.

    Alban Bagbin, further pushed the improvement of knowledge of members on the procedures of the house.

    “Beyond that, we have the rulings of speakers and literature on the laws and customs of Parliament. The fact that the concept of democracy has remained the say of separation of powers and checks and balances, we need to have continuous education of these matters for us to play our role well.”

    On Thursday, Alexander Afenyo-Markin raised an objection to a motion of a vote of censure filed against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

    The Minority in Parliament had filed the vote of censure against the Finance Minister citing seven reasons which include conflict of interest and fiscal recklessness leading to the sharp depreciation of the Ghana Cedi.

    But speaking on the floor of Parliament, Mr. Afenyo-Markin argued that the reasons given by the Minority were unjustified, adding that the Minister of Finance has not been heard on the allegations.

    “If you go through our order paper in this House, clearly committees bring reports, we submit applications and motions are advertised on their own. So a motion for a censure against the Finance Minister…Mr. Speaker, we should not forget that we are in a political space. The Minister has been condemned long before he is heard. The respondent in this application has been condemned with allegations, not facts. We all want a fair hearing.”

     

  • First Sign language quiz competition held in Tarkwa

    The first-ever sign language quiz competition has been held for basic schools in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality under the theme: Start Right; Nurturing our children For An Inclusive Society.

    Sign language is the only medium through which the deaf community can communicate to themselves and the public, but unfortunately, quite a number of people worldwide do not understand sign language.

    Organized by Silanem, a Sign Language and Music School in collaboration with Inclusive Tech Group, a non-profit making organization that is into the development of assistive technologies for the vulnerable in society, especially the disabled, to ensure inclusion in society, the quiz competition was to test the ability of pupils to interpret sign language.

    The quiz competition started with lots of schools at the preliminary stage, with four schools; Namess International School, Deyounge School Complex, Daylight Preparatory School, and Holy Standard Academy qualifying for the final stage, which was held at the UMaT Mini Auditorium on October 12, 2022.

    At the end of the competition, Holy Standard Academy came first, followed by Namess International School, Deyounge School Complex, and Daylight Preparatory school.

    The Executive Director of Silanem, Richmond Baidoo, who congratulated the finalist for being the first schools to have participated in a sign language quiz in Ghana, said sign language is an important language everyone must learn in order to be able to communicate with the deaf, anytime they meet.

    According to him, it was difficult introducing sign language to many schools within the municipality because those schools felt that they had deaf pupils in their schools, so there was no need for that.

    He added that “sign language entails a lot not only the hand gestures but the parameters within which the person moves can also bring different meanings”.

    Speaking in an interview, the Executive Director of Inclusive Tech Group, Dr. Mrs. Millicent Agangiba explained that sign language should be something everyone should desire to learn.

    She stressed that though Inclusive Tech Group exists to promote inclusion through Technology, it is the understanding of the persons that determines what device to develop in order to help the disabled be included in societal transformation.

    The Head of the Counseling Unit of UMaT, Mr. P.S Koffie, commended the organizers for putting up the quiz competition.

    He called on the government to introduce sign language into the curriculum so that the deaf will also feel part of the community in which they live. This, he said, will also help those who can hear to interact with the deaf.

  • Times are hard – Nana Addo admits

    President Akufo-Addo says he is much aware of the difficulties Ghanaians are facing in the face of the current economic challenges.

    Nana Akufo-Addo says government is working to mitigate the plight of the citizenry.

    “I have seen the difficulties that our currency has been having. I have seen the difficulties and dramatic rise of price levels, significant rise in the cost of living and difficulties generally, in the manner the economy is rising”, he said.

    Speaking to journalists at the Jubilee House, Nana Akufo-Addo said he will need the support of all.

    “We have to understand that, all sectors and actors of the economy either on the side of management, labour and workers have to find a way of balancing the various considerations so that we can all progress and continue hopefully in building a stronger economy.”

    Ghana’s economic indicators keep worsening.

    The Ghana cedi for instance has seen a huge depreciation as it has lost close to 50 percent of its value since the beginning of the year.

    Bloomberg has also rated the currency the worst-performing worldwide after considering a basket of 148 currencies worldwide.

    Ghana’s inflation for September 2022 stands at 37.2 percent while Producer Price Inflation for the same month has risen to 45.5 percent putting majority of Ghanaians in a tight situation because their purchasing power keeps reducing amidst poor salaries.

     

    Prices of food items are high, coupled with the increasing cost of transportation.

    On the labour front, workers are demanding better working conditions. Manufacturers are also adopting ways to cut down on operations in the wake of these economic difficulties.

    There are ongoing discussions between the government of Ghana and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a US$ 3 million bailout to salvage the economic downturn.

    The President and his cabinet have begun a retreat to deliberate on the economy as government’s negotiation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nears completion.

    The President for the past days engaged relevant stakeholders on how best torevive the economy.

    Meanwhile, Nana Akufo-Addo will on Sunday, October 30, 2022, address the nation on the current economic situation in the country.

     

     

  • Stop funding National Cathedral Project – Mahama to Akufo-Addo

    Former President, John Dramani Mahama says the construction of the National Cathedral Project can longer be a top priority, given the existing cost of living crisis in the country.

    He maintains, no further attempts must be made to continue committing public funds and the little state resources to the project in these crucial times.

    “The public funding of the national cathedral, particularly at this time, must stop”, the former President said.

    John Mahama whilst making reference to his Christian values emphasized that resources should rather be channelled to revive the ailing economy, adding that funds already pumped into the construction works should also be subjected to value for money audit.

    “Being a Christian myself, and deeply appreciative of the centrality of God in nation building, I agree with most Ghanaians who believe that the project cannot constitute a top priority of government at this moment, warranting further injection of scarce public funds.”

    “Because of the non-transparency of the procurements associated with the project, I believe that the project should be subjected to a value-for-money audit in other to open the way for believers who wish to contribute to its construction to do so”, Mr. Mahama added.

    John Mahama was delivering a speech themed, ‘Building the Ghana we want’ at the University of Professional Studies, Accra on Thursday, October 27, 2022.

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is still unwavering in his resolve to build a National Cathedral in Ghana.

    “We will surely build the [National] Cathedral,” President Akufo-Addo stressed.

    For him, the project is dear to his heart and will ensure that the facility is built to glorify God despite the tough times.

    He insisted that the Cathedral is a “priority among priorities”.

    “Though the economic hardships are having a toll on Ghanaians, I am very optimistic that things will get better, adding that “these challenges too will pass.”

    Recently, a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral project, Rev. Joyce Aryee, said she is optimistic Ghana’s economic crisis will not stop donations to the project.

    At a press conference to announce a call centre for Ghanaians to seek answers on the project such as how to make donations, Rev. Aryee, said she did not expect the economic hardship to persist in the long term.

     

    Construction work on the National Cathedral was suspended because of a lack of funds.

    The $450 million project was envisioned by the government in March 2017 as a physical embodiment of national unity, harmony, and spirituality.

    It remains unclear how much has been pumped into the project from donations and government support.

    As of June 2022, various church denominations had contributed GH¢2.21 million towards the construction.

     

  • We’ll summon ministers to answer for Pwalugu dam project – Talensi MP

    The Member of Parliament for the Talensi constituency, Benson Tongo Baba, plans to push for answers on the delayed Pwalugu Multipurpose dam project sometime next year.

    Commenting on concerns that the $993 million project has been abandoned, the MP said there were plans in place to formally visit the project site.

    Following this, he said they will try to seek answers from the relevant ministers in Parliament.

    “We will definitely go there after the budget presentation by the Minister of Finance, this year,” Mr. Baba said on Eyewitness News.

    “Early next year, we will take appropriate action to drag either the Minister of Agriculture or the Ministry of Finance to respond to questions in Parliament as to why the project has come to a standstill.”

    The MP was speaking after some farmers in the Upper East and North East Regions protested at Nalerigu to demand the acceleration of the project.

    The protesting farmers were led by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana.

    Dr. Charles Nyaaba, the Executive Director of the association, called for the Vice President to intervene in the matter.

    “We are calling on Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, who is a son of the land, to lead this campaign. We are actually supporting him to ensure that as part of the IMF negotiations, money is allocated and provision is made for the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose dam.”

     

     

  • Annul Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency polls; it was rigged – Some NDC members demand

    Some aggrieved National Democratic Congress (NDC) executives and aspirants in the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency have accused the incumbent constituency leadership of the party of conniving with other agencies to rig the just-ended constituency election.

    They are pointing accusing fingers at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) constituency chairman, the Electoral Commission, NDC electoral committee and police for bullying their way through the election.

    The members claim the elections were conducted in an unfair and unjust manner to enable the current leadership to stay in power.

    “Some executives are threatening to withdraw their services, others are threatening to resign from their positions. We will not allow their overwhelming shouts of change to be silenced,” said Joshua Essel, one of the disgruntled aspirants.

    Speaking at a press conference, Joshua Essel assured party members in the constituency that steps will be taken to annul the results.

    “As leaders who believe in the rule of law, we have taken action and addressed the appropriate quarters. We seek redress and the total annulment of the elections because it was nothing but fraud. The election was fraught with many irregularities, illegalities and thievery”.

     

  • Physician Assistants ‘fight’ Medical & Dental Council over unfavorable policies

    There is widespread agitation among members of the Ghana Physician Assistants Association as they demand a new regulatory body to replace the Medical and Dental Council.

    The leadership of the association says members are not happy over what they say are unfavourable policies by the Medical and Dental Council and demanded a new body to supervise and manage their affairs.

    President of the Association, Emmanuel Appiah, says leadership is facing intense pressure from members for an exit from the Medical and Dental Council.

    “There is huge pressure on leadership because of the kind of things the regulator has done, so there is nothing members understand. Anything you say, members push it out. We asked members to cooperate because we told them there is a new face of the Council, but it got the members annoyed, so they trust the Council again because they feel it is not ready to help the profession and for that matter, we need an exit from the Council”, he expressed.

    Mr. Appiah who spoke at the Association’s 19th Annual General Conference in Kumasi said the government and the Ministry of Health have continuously ignored demands to grant financial clearance for over 800 qualified Physician Assistants who are currently without jobs.

    “Now there are those who have completed schools and have passed the Council’s exams. The Prescribers are needed at the facilities but we don’t get them there because they do not have the financial clearance. So government must set its eyes in that regard because the employment is frustrating.”

     

  • How Speaker linked cedi appreciation to calls for Ofori-Atta’s sack

    Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has said the cedi appreciation is due to the calls for the removal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

    According to him, since the minority filed a motion to have Ken Ofori-Atta removed, Ghanaians have regained confidence that action has been taken to curb the economic crisis.

    “Because of this motion, you know what has happened to the state of our Cedi. Just because people are given confidence that action is being taken, the Cedi gained some value, and parliament should be commended. It climbed from about 16 to a dollar to around 13, which is a serious gain for this country, and it’s because there is some confidence being given to the people that action is being taken to rectify the wrongs. Please let’s play our role properly and effectively, and at the end of the day, we’ll all benefit,” he told MPs on Thursday.

    On October 27, the speaker of parliament Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin admitted the minority’s Censure Motion filed against Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

    This comes after Members of Parliament on the Minority side signed their signatories to a motion for a vote of censure on Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, filed on Monday.

    The Minority cites the overall mismanagement of the economy and ethical concerns, among others.

    The motion was filed a day before Parliament resumed recess.

    The admission of the motion is contained in the Order Paper of Parliament, issued on Thursday, October 27, 2022.

    The House is expected to organize “a secret vote” to censure the Minister. This is scheduled for November 10, 2022.

  • Ofori-Atta would have been one of Africa’s most glorified ministers if not for COVID – Ayew Afriye

    The Member of Parliament for Effiduase-Asokore, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye, one of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs demanding the dismissal of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said that had it not been for the Coronavirus and the Russia-Ukraine war, the minister would have been one of the most glorified ministers in the sub-region.

    In the view of the MP, who is the Chairman of the Health Committee of Parliament, Ken Ofori-Atta has performed wonderfully, insisting that the growth of the economy and the direction of the economy was on the right trajectory before the global disasters.

    He, however, said that in spite of the wonderful work the finance minister has done on the economy, Ghanaians are going through difficult times, the reason for which there is a push for his dismissal.

    Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye also likened Ghanaians to the Israelites of the biblical times, when they rejected God any time they went through difficulties.

    He added that although the MPs acknowledge Ken Ofori-Atta’s sterling performance, they are only acting upon the instruction of their constituents.

    “We represent the people and we must act upon their demand. But for COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War, I am sure Ken would have been one of the most glorified ministers in Africa because the growth of the economy and the direction of the economy was on the right trajectory.

    “Working with people is difficult because when things are going well, they won’t complain, but the moment things get difficult, they forget all the good works you have done for them. It’s just like how ungrateful the Israelites were to God in spite of all the things God did for them. In difficult times, they rejected God even to the extent of worshiping idols.

    “So, the only way to satisfy our constituents is to act upon their demand of getting Ken Ofori-Atta sacked. They won’t listen to anything you tell them,” he told the Morning show host of Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV, Kwesi Parker-Wilson, in an interview.

    He also added that if there are signs of economic recovery, they (the MPs) will abandon the call for the dismissal of the finance minister.

    “Yes, we acceded to the president’s appeal so if after the 3 weeks, the economy is doing well, and everyone is talking about it we won’t push through with demand for his dismissal,” he added.

     

  • #Kenmustgo: “Nothing should have stopped us from standing on our demands” – MP for Oforikrom constituency

    Member of Parliament (MP) for Oforikrom constituency, Ashanti Region, Dr Emmanuel Marfo in his opinion believes the Majority Caucus were in a haste to suspend their request for Ken Ofori-Atta’s dismissal.

    The MP in a Facebook post on Thursday, October 27, 2022 stated that,” I read the Statement by the NPP caucus in response to the President’s plea for more time with lots of concern. I do not fully agree with it and perhaps would have been better to say we have taken all concerns on board and will do what will be in the best interest of the political and economic stability of our country”.

    On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, some Members of Parliament who are part of the Majority Caucus called for the immediate dismissal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, as well as the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen.

    They argued that relieving the duo of their duties will aid in fixing Ghana’s struggling economy, which has been plagued by rising inflation and debt.

    In light of this, President Akufo-Addo met with the dissatisfied legislators and demanded that the Finance Minister conclude Ghana’s negotiations with the IMF and submit the 2023 Budget Statement to Parliament.

    Briefly after the interaction, the Majority Caucus in a statement dated Wednesday, October 26, noted that after deliberation among members, it will withhold its current demands.

     

    Read Dr Emmanuel Marfo’s Statement here:

    *DR. EMMANUEL MARFO (MP) writes:*

    Statement by the Majority caucus in Parliament on call for sacking Finance Ministers

    I read the Statement by the NPP caucus in response to the President’s plea for more time with lots of concern. I do not fully agree with it and perhaps would have been better to say we have taken all concerns on board and will do what will be in the best interest of the political and economic stability of our country.

    I think the turn of events post the press conference begs for some questions in order to come to a conclusion whether the action was needed in the first place. Was the grievance of the 80 MPs and their subsequent action well communicated to the leadership of the Party and the Caucus? Did the Caucus leadership communicate to the President? Did the President provide a response consistent with his plea to leadership? Did leadership convey the President’s response to the concerned MPs or the Caucus?

    In effect I am asking whether there was effective engagement within us. If indeed there was, and one may say the President was ‘recalcitrant’ then the press statement may be justified, if not, then perhaps in my humble view, the press Statement was too early.

    However, we are made to believe that the sentiments were rightly conveyed to the President and that his response was unfavourable to the concerns of the MPs. In that case, I dont think the MPs, and now the caucus, should have backed down on our demands. Why? Because for MPs in a ruling Party to come to a point of going public to demand of their President to sack an appointee, and no less an appointee than a Finance Minister, a lot of public pressure, political and intellectual thinking and and assessment MUST have gone into that decision.

    Securing public and perhaps Party interest must have been stretched beyond its elastic limit and that nothing should stop them from going back. The MPs must have reached a point where the die is cast and that no amount of words were going to stop the crossing of Rubicon. It must be the point of no return and here the words of Sun Tzu come to mind “he will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” Now the cake is half-baked, you cannot eat it, you can’t throw it away!
    In any case, I think the response in the Statement, especially the condition that the President must sack them after the IMF and budget assignments, will even worsen the plight of the President, politically-speaking because he has been put in a very tight corner; indeed between the devil and the deep blue sea. If we were going to listen to the President’s plea, then my view is that we should not have given him any conditions and allow events to take their natural course. And indeed, if I were Ken or Charles, perhaps this is the time to have honourably resigned. Why? Because we seem to have passed a death sentence on them and that regardless of what they will do, we are only waiting for the clock to tick, just to wait for their day of cruxificion. Wow!! This is most unfair, to say the least. How would they be in the right frame of emotional, pyschological and intellectual mind to execute the very critical job for which we have been begged to wait till completed? Are we looking for quality output or just to tick the check box that a job is done?

    In any case, I cannot also stand for the Statement because it defeats, fundamentally, the very principle for which we called for the cruxificion. Are we saying that regardless of the Ken-led IMF negotation, a role I dont support anyway, or how good his 2023 budget will look like, he must still go? If that is so, and indeed as the statement suggests, then we have already declared no hope in their competence and that nothing good can come from Nazareth. If indeed that is our fatal hope and expectation, then I beg to suggest that there is no need to waste any further time on these gentlemen, they must go! However, the flip side is, if for any reason, they deliver a good IMF programme and a great budget to our satisfaction, would we still insist they go? One may say, of course not but then we would have already created the fertile conditions for their dismissal by the ‘agreement’ in our Statement.

    The President, and indeed all of us majority MPs, will come under immense pressure, especially when the press Statement has received immense public applause.
    In summary, I think if we really came to a point of going public, then nothing should have stopped us for standing on our demands. If we were going to yield, then we should not have given any conditions to the President. Afterall, it cannot be the case that the 80 MPs did not know that Ken was busy leading an IMF negotation and that he was busy preparing the 2023 budget. It cannot be that the MPs did not contemplate the consequences of our demand on these ongoing assignments.

    For me it is a zero-sum game, this symbolic win-win semblance will come back to bite us. Mark my words! He who fights and run away, lives to fight another day-Bob Marley
    I like the slogan of an insurance advert, if it must be done, it must be done well. If Ken and Charles must go, they must go now, else lets forever hold our peace and pray for something good to come from Nazareth. The Parliamentary group is a very powerful, respectable and honourable arm of our Party. Next time, when we have to leap, we must weigh and watch and when we leap in the glare of the public, we must never return to base. Before we speak, we must have come to a point of no surrender, less we make mockery of ourselves. This is politics, Selah!

     

  • Major Mahama didn’t give me chance to know his identity – Assemblyman tells Court

    The Assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi, William Baah, who is standing trial together with 13 others for their respective roles in the lynching of Major Maxwell Mahama, has said he did not order the killing of the young military officer.

    William Baah, who is the first accused person, also told the Court that the late Major Mahama “did not give me a chance to find out who he was.”

    The Assemblyman, who is also a teacher and referred to by many as Misty, has denied the charge of abetment, with the 13 others also pleading not guilty to the charges of conspiracy and murder.

    Mounting his defence to the charge of abetment, William Baah told the High Court in Accra that he tried to know major Mahama’s mission in the town, but he “pointed a gun at me.”

    Being led by his lawyer George Bernard Shaw to give his Evidence-in-Chief, William Baah said his responsibility as an Assemblyman is to protect lives in the area, including “strangers.”

    “I am in Assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi. It is my responsibility to protect the lives of the people in the community and even strangers,” he told the Court.

    “It is not my intention to harm anyone, and when the incident happened, I tried to go and ask the victim (Major Mahama) who he was and what his mission in the town was.

    “Since he did not give me the chance to find out who he was but rather pointed a gun at me, I had no option than to go to the police station to report for the police to come for him,” the accused told the Court.

    According to him, “as at the time I was going to the police station, no one had touched the victim or abused him verbally.”

    No order to murder

    “What I have been charged with by the police is that I have abetted the killing of the deceased. I did not order anyone to use a stick or gun to murder the deceased.

    He added that “When I was going there, I was not holding any stick or cutlass or gun” and “since I was born, till I got to JHS level, I have never gotten into a fight before, and I had never seen my parents fighting.”

    The accused also told the Court that “it would be very difficult for me as an assemblyman to incite people to pick up weapons to attack any person and kill that person.”

    He concluded his Evidence-in-Chief, saying “I do not know anything about what I have been charged with.”

    Call to Police Commander

    William Baah had told the Court that, after he had made enquiries about where the gun major Mahama was holding after the incident, he called the police commander.

    “I called the Police Commander, and I told him I have been trying to reach him on the phone but have not been able to get through to him, and I told him what had happened.”

    The Police Commander he said confirmed to him that the person had died after he was conveyed to the hospital.

    He told the Court that, after the crowd at the crime scene had cleared, he left back to school.

    Fear and panic

    William Baah also told the Court that a friend of his at Diaso called and informed him that he had heard that the person who died was a soldier.

    This information, he said, led to some of the people in the town running away.

    Explaining to the Court why the people were running away, he said, “in the beginning, they thought they had killed an armed robber, but when they heard that the victim was a soldier, they panicked and started to run away.

    Commander advised me to go into hiding

    “I called the police commander on phone and talked with him, and he told me now that it had been confirmed that the victim was a soldier, and they had come to his office.”

    He added: “I asked him what would be done now and when the soldiers come to the town, they wouldn’t know who is who, so I should go into hiding for now.

    “So, I left that town and went to a town called Ampa Abena in the Diaso District.”

    He told the Court that he stayed at Ampa Abena for two days, but upon hearing his name mentioned on the radio, that he had run away and the police were looking for him for investigation, he called the Commander and disclosed his location, and they came for him.

    Time with the Police

    He told the Court that, after he was picked from his location, he was taken to the Cape Coast Police Station and interrogated.

    He told the Court that, after interrogation, they took him to Police Headquarters handcuffed.

    “They handcuffed me and made me sit at the edge of the seat with my toes suspended, and I was shaking, and anytime I try sitting properly, they scold me that we have killed a soldier.”

    Statements, video

    He also told the Court that he moved to another office after telling him that some people had come, and “they showed me a video of what had happened, and they asked me to show them where I was standing and the dress I was wearing.”

    He said when he was brought back to the Cape Coast Police headquarters, some of the things that he said were not captured in his statement.

    “After my statement was taken, it was read back to me, and I realised I said some things that were not taken down, so I told him (officer), so he slammed his hand on the table, and I panicked.”

    He added that the officer told him, “I was not the one to show him how to do his work.”

    The Court presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu, a Justice of the Supreme Court sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, has adjourned the sitting to October 31 for further Cross Examination.

    Background

    The late Major Mahama of the 5th Infantry Battalion, Burma Camp, Accra, was on duty at Denkyira-Obuasi, and on May 29, 2017, some residents allegedly mistook him for an armed robber and lynched him.

    The mob had ignored his persistent plea that he was an officer of the Ghana Armed Forces.

    The Assembly Member and 13 others are still in prison custody after they pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime, murder, abetment of crime and other charges.

    They are Baah, Bernard Asamoah, alias Daddy, Kofi Nyame,a.k.a Abortion, AkwasiBoah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim and Bismarck Donkor.

    Others are John Bosie, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga and Kwadwo.

     

  • BoG revokes license of two popular forex bureaus in Accra

    The Bank of Ghana has revoked the license of the Airport City Forex Bureau within the Atlantic Tower building and Trade House Forex Bureau Ltd, a popular forex bureau at the Marina Mall.

    The closure follows the failure of the operators to issue receipts and the breaching of Foreign Exchange laws in the country.

    The two forex bureaus are under the same ownership and were detected by a mystery shopping exercise by the central bank.

    The Head of Other Financial Institutions Supervision department of the Central Bank, Yaw Sarpong, noted that they were not issuing electronic receipts and not requesting valid proof of identity.

    Mr. Sarpong said the “two bureaus on several occasions have been found not to be complying.”

    “The way they set their prices are detrimental and we think that the licenses of the two bureaus have to be revoked,” he added.

     

  • NSMQ2022: GNPC To offer full university scholarships to five contestants

    The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) will offer five full university scholarships to five outstanding contestants of the just-ended 2022 National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ).

    As a supporting sponsor of the contest, GNPC will provide the scholarship package as part of the academic scholarships to be awarded to the outstanding contestants of the grand finale of the 2022 edition of the NSMQ.

    Five of the nine contestants who competed in the National Science and Maths Quiz grand finale will receive the Full Scholarship, which covers tuition, accommodation, living expenses, learning materials, as well as Book Allowance and Dissertation/Project Allowance.

    The chief executive officer of the Corporation, Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah an alumnus and former contestant of the National Science and Maths Quiz for the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School speaking at the closing ceremony of the competition at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology underscored the corporation’s commitment to maximizing local participation in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. (STEM)

    “Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), as the national oil company (NOC), recognizes the urgent need to maximize local content and local participation for the people of Ghana, through developing expertise in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) within the value chain, for job creation.”

    According to him, the National Science and Maths Quiz has proven to be a good project over the years through its promotion of STEM education, hence the GNPC’s decision to sponsor the competition.

    “Indeed, the NMSQ is a good project, and that is why the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has decided to join in promoting the study of Science and Maths, which is the bedrock of our very existence as a society. Today, every thriving society is making huge investments in the study and promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).”

    The chief executive officer of GNPC further appreciated the organisers of the competition-Prime Time limited, for sustaining the programme for close to three decades while churning out great leaders through the contest.

    “I want to use this opportunity to thank the management of Primetime production for having sustained this project for the past 29 years. Next year will be three (3) decades of the National Science and Maths Quiz, one whole generation of patronizing the backbone of the country.”

    The Presbyterian Boys Senior High School won the 2022 National Science and Maths Quiz, thus becoming the competition’s seven-time winner.

    Presbyterian Boys’ SHS won the competition in the final round surprising the students from Prempeh College, who had led in previous rounds.

    At the end of the contest, the Presbyterian Boys SHS had 50 points, while Prempeh College garnered 41 points with Adisadel College ending the contest with 32 points.

  • Let’s unite to break the NPP’s resolve to ‘break the 8’

    A national chairman hopeful on the ticket of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nii Armah Ashitey, is urging the rank and file of the party to unite and challenge the governing New Patriotic Party’s ‘Break the Eight’ mantra in 2024.

    “We can alone break the NPP’s break the eight mantra if we solidly unite for a purpose,” he rallied.

    The former NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Klottey Korley Constituency in the Greater Accra Region made this comment speaking in an interview with Emmanuel Quarshie (The Hitman), host of the Ghana Yensom morning show on Accra 100.5 FM on Thursday, October 27 2022.

    “Unless the NDC unites after the elections that it can devise a strategy to break the NPP’s quest to break the eight,” he said.

    “It is incumbent on the winners in the last elections to reach out to the losers in last Saturday’s Constituency elections to achieve the purpose of breaking the NPP’s break eight,” he added.

    “Unfortunately, as a party, we have not taken any interest in the NPP’s mantra to break the eight but we can break the NPP’s quest to break the eight,” Mr Ashitey bemoaned.

    “I have always shied away from scoring the president on his performance because he has failed on all cylinders,” he noted.

    He added that NPP has failed to give Ghanaians hope by not bringing the needed change in the country.

    “Ghanaians have had enough of the bad governance of president Akufo-Addo,” he put forth.

    The former Minister of Manpower and Labour Relations said Ghana as a nation, ‘we have it all but we have not been able to fix the problems of the country because all economic measures being churned out favour foreigners in the country.”

    He called for the need for Ghana to domesticate its economic gains.

    The man who is a lawyer by profession said he had worked in various capacities within the rank and file of the party hence he is capable to lead the party as a national chairman.

    “I’m ready to share my experience in the leadership of the party” he said, adding that the NDC has a problem because it lost elections in 2016 and in 2020.

     

  • COVID-19 Vaccination: Use a messaging strategy that will protect families – SEND GHANA report

    A comprehensive report that looked at equity and governance as far as the distribution of Coronavirus vaccines are concerned in Ghana has been launched.

    Titled “Monitoring Compliance of Ghana’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP) and Citizens’ COVID-19 Vaccination Experience,” the SEND GHANA report assessed compliance of Ghana’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP) and the equitable uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines.

    With a focus on how health workers and teachers in particular adhered to the protocols set out for the vaccination of Ghanaians, the report found that many people were satisfied with the processes and had little complains.

    Speaking to the media right after the report was launched in Accra, the Deputy Country Director of SEND GHANA, Dr. Emmanuel Ayifah, explained that the challenges from the global impacts of the novel Coronavirus influenced this report.

    “All of us know that 2020 was a bad year globally because of COVID, and Ghana as a country put in place certain measures to contain the spread of the virus. One key thing that was done, of course, was vaccination.

    “So, what SEND GHANA, in partnership with PTF did, was to monitor the COVID vaccinations. We have what is called the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP), which is protocol that has to be followed, and so we sought to monitor to see to what extent health personnel at vaccination centers were actually following NDVP.

    “Another was also to assess citizens who have gone to vaccinate, their experiences as to how the vaccination went; whether they were satisfied or otherwise, and once we did that, we also had to focus on certain specific groups: health workers and teachers,” he said.

    He also explained that it had been established, from the report, that many beneficiaries of the vaccination in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions (where the findings were done), were averagely satisfied with the professionalism of health workers.

    “You remember that during the COVID, health workers and teachers were prioritized in terms of vaccination. So, we wanted to also find out to what extent the vaccination did well. What we established, in terms of the findings and some key recommendations, was that generally, citizens we interviewed during the exit interview session, were very satisfied as far as COVID vaccination was concerned,” he added.

    Dr. Emmanuel Ayifah further said that from the findings in this report, SEND GHANA has recommended to the Ghana Health Service to employ the use of a messaging strategy that aims at protecting people’s families and friends.

    He said that with such a strategy, more people, like they did during the vaccination for the COVID-19, would be willing to participate.

    The SEND GHANA report was done with funding support from the Partnership for Transparency Fund (TFP).

    The report also looked at an assessment of citizens experiences, opinions and motivations for vaccinations; vaccination uptake among prioritized groups using data from COVID-19 vaccination database; the adherence to vaccination safety protocols; the distribution of cold chain and logistics; as well as the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among health workers and teachers.

    The report also focused on eight districts in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions (four for each) and involved exit interviews from a total of 677 people between the ages of 20 and 60 plus years.

     

  • Ghanaians will be selling human beings to survive if the NDC were in power – Deputy trade minister

    Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi, has insisted that his party, the New Patriotic Party, are better managers of Ghana’s economy compared to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

    Speaking in an interview on TV3, which GhanaWeb monitored, Okyere Baafi said that if the NDC were the handlers of the economy in these difficult times, Ghanaians would be suffering so much that they would have to resort to selling people to make a living.

    “When we say people have the men to govern, have the ideas to govern, it is even out of place to compare the NDC and the NPP. I don’t stand to be corrected. How do you say that? It is completely out of place.

    “You cannot situate this at any given talk or conversation. What were you (the NDC) able to do? As a matter of fact, I am telling you with confidence that if you people were to be in power by this time, people will be selling human beings on the street of Ghana… It is a statement of fact that I’m making to you,” he said.

    Okyere Baafi, who is the Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, also refuted assertions by the NDC that Ghanaians are facing a lot of challenges because the Akufo-Addo government does not listen.

    According to him, the advice given to the government by the opposition NDC are out of bad will.

    “The mindset (of the opposition), the spirit behind the talk is not clear. It doesn’t seem good. It is not honest,” he added.

     

  • ‘I wasn’t served’ – Speaker takes on Supreme Court over cannabis judgment

    Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has faulted the Supreme Court for delivering judgment in a matter the legislature was a party to without giving it a hearing.

    According to Alban Bagbin, he “had no knowledge about the suit.”

    He made this comment in Parliament on Thursday, October 27, 2022.

    In July 2022, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the law on granting licence to grow cannabis, popularly known as ‘wee’ in small quantities for industrial and medicinal purposes.

    Section 43 of Act 1019 of the Narcotics Commission Act stipulates that “the Minister on the recommendation of the Commission, may grant a licence for the cultivation of cannabis popularly referred to as “wee” in Ghana, which is not more than 0.3 % THC content on a dry weight basis for industrial purposes for obtaining fibre or seed for medicinal purposes.”

    However, the Apex court in a 4-3 majority decision on July 28 annulled Section 43 of Act 1019 and declared that it is a violation of Article 106 of the 1992 constitution.

    But the Speaker has faulted the court saying although Parliament was a party to the suit, they were not granted hearing on the matter.

    He insists that the fact that the ruling affected portions of the law is what even makes the implications dire.

    “Yet, judgment was delivered by the Supreme Court in which a section of a law we passed was struck out as unconstitutional. If the speaker is a party to a suit, at least the speaker should be served. There was no service,” he said.

    The Justices who ruled for the majority decision were; Justices Jones Dotse, Clemence Jackson Honyenuga, Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu and Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi while Justices Nene Amegatcher, Prof Nii Ashie Kotey and Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu disagreed.

    The case was brought before the Apex Court by one Ezuame Mannan against the Attorney-General.

  • Cedi rising because of motion for censure against Finance Minister – Speaker

    Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin says the Cedi has gained some value against the US dollar following moves in parliament to remove Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister.

    According to him, the action being taken by the minority concerning a motion for a vote of censure against Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, has begun restoring some level of confidence in the Ghanaian economy.

    “Because of this motion, you know what has happened to the state of our Cedi. Just because people are given confidence that action is being taken, the Cedi gained some value, and parliament should be commended. It climbed from about 16 to a dollar to around 13, that is a serious gain for this country, and it’s because there is some confidence being given to the people that action is being taken to rectify the wrongs. Please let’s play our role properly and effectively, and at the end of the day, we’ll all benefit,” he told MPs on Thursday.

    Meanwhile, he thanked the Deputy Majority Leader, Afenyo Markin, for drawing the attention of the House with regard to the proper procedure in filing the motion for a vote of censure against Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

    “You’ve done well by drawing our attention, but I think the proper thing has been done, and we should leave it as it is. I know as we keep on jaw-jawing, we’ll do what is proper in this House.”

    The deputy majority leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, had argued that the minority MPs failed to attach evidence to the motion to back their claims.

    “Mr. Speaker, I beg to submit that the legal grounds or grounds for submission are not embedded in the motion. I am saying that Mr. Speaker, the motion is supposed to be advertised; that is what the constitution says. The constitution is not saying that you should accompany it with allegations as part of the motion; that is my contention. And if they beg to disagree, they should say so for the records to capture. And if there is any other provision that perhaps I have not read which allows you to state allegations, not fact, to support your motion, they should again draw my attention; we are here to learn. I’m not ashamed if I get it wrong, and I’m corrected. Mr. Speaker, I so submit.”

    Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu however, rubbished the claim arguing there’s enough evidence to impeach Ken Ofori-Atta.

    “We have made reference to constitutional provisions of Article 178, 176, and 82. Mr. Speaker to demonstrate with facts on this floor that the Minister is in breach of the law apart from the fact that he’s trashed the Ghanaian economy, we’ll do so. You cannot question the competence of the Speaker in admitting the motion. And we have not given you any fact, we are only giving you headlines of the matters to which we’ll lead with evidence.”

    Background

    Members of Parliament on the Minority side have tabled a motion for a vote of censure on Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, filed on Monday.

    The minority cites the gross mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy which has occasioned untold and unprecedented hardship among others.

    The motion was filed a day before parliament resumed from recess.

     

     

  • Majority asks Speaker to throw out minority motion to remove Ken Ofori-Atta

    The majority in parliament wants the motion for censure against finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta thrown out for want of evidence.

    Speaking on the floor, the deputy majority leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, argued the minority MPs failed to attach evidence to the motion to back their claims.

    “Mr. Speaker, I beg to submit that the legal grounds or grounds for submission are not embedded in the motion. I am saying that Mr. Speaker, the motion is supposed to be advertised; that is what the constitution says. The constitution is not saying that you should accompany it with allegations as part of the motion; that is my contention. And if they beg to disagree, they should say so for the records to capture. And if there is any other provision that perhaps I have not read which allows you to state allegations, not facts, to support your motion, they should again draw my attention; we are here to learn. I’m not ashamed if I get it wrong, and I’m corrected. Mr. Speaker, I so submit.”

    Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu however, rubbished the claim arguing there’s enough evidence to impeach Ken Ofori-Atta.

    “We have made reference to constitutional provisions of Articles 178, 176, and 82. Mr. Speaker, to demonstrate with facts on this floor that the Minister is in breach of the law apart from the fact that he’s trashed the Ghanaian economy, we’ll do so. You cannot question the competence of the Speaker in admitting the motion. And we have not given you any facts; we are only giving you headlines of the matters to which we’ll lead with evidence. Mr. Speaker, our evidence will be in the category ‘beyond a shadow of a doubt’ – that the Ghanaian economy is a trashed economy, the cedi worst performing currency in the world.

    “You have done what is constitutionally right. I expect him to be assuring me that his side will support this, and by consensus, we save this country. We need to save this country, save its businesses. Businesses are collapsing, industry is collapsing, the Ghanaian citizens are reeling under unprecedented hardships. That must be your concern. We are invoking provisions of the constitution.”

     

     

  • It’ll be very bad for Akufo-Addo and NPP if they decide to repeat history in 2024 – Otukonor

    The Aspiring General secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Peter Buamah Otukonor has revealed that the NDC will do everything possible to win the 2020 general elections.

    According to him, the 2024 elections will be a ‘do or die affair’ as they will not let history to repeat itself.

    In an interview with GhanaWeb, he said they don’t expect the NPP to repeat whatever they did in the 2020 elections.

    “(2024 elections) do or die it will certainly be because we can not afford to stand a minute with this incompetent and clueless government. Most importantly and particularly too, on behalf of the people of this country, we cannot tolerate the continuance of this government and so whatever it will take to win political power in 2024 we are going to do that together with the people of this country to make sure we change government and bring a government to understands the plight and need of people,” he said.

    He added that the power of the people should not be underestimated.

    He said the signs are already clear that the Ghanaians have lost trust in the President Akufo-Addo.

    He cited the booing in his recent public appearance and the during his tour as clear examples of the mistrust.

     

  • Arise Ghana to demonstrate over economic hardship on Nov 15

    Pressure group Arise Ghana has announced its decision to demonstrate over the severe economic hardship visited on Ghanaians by president Akufo-Addo’s administration.

    The group made the announcement to demonstrate in a statement jointly signed by Mr Rex Omar, Mensah Thompson, Bernard Mornah and Bobie Ansah.

    The demonstration is expected to come off on November 15, 2022.

    Below is the full statement:

    “Arise Ghana observes with grave concern the current trend of severe economic hardship that has been visited on Ghanaians.

    “We are of the view that such degree of suffering visited on Ghanaians are as a result of the recklessness, incompetence and greed of President Akufo-Addo, Ken Ofori-Atta and Dr Mahamadu Bawumia.

    “Arise Ghana also notes with even greater concern the recent spate of insults thrown at Ghanaians at the mere attempt to complain about the severe economic hardship they are forced to endure under President Akufo-Addo, not only from the President himself but from his family and close acquaintances.

    “Arise Ghana as the most vibrant pressure group that has led Ghana’s economic struggles in recent past deem it very important to yet again rise to the ocassion and bring some hope to struggling young people and the good people of Ghana.

    “Arise Ghana, therefore, wishes to use this medium to announce its plans to lead a massive demonstration in the capital on 15th November 2022.

    “Ahead of this massive demonstration, Arise Ghana will also engage various groups such as trade unions, labour groups, youth groups and other stakeholders.

    “Again we want to use this medium to commend people like lawyer Martin Kpebu, Prof Ransford Gyampo, Prof Bokpin and others who have been fearless in pointing out the current crisis that we find ourselves in.

    “We wish to assure them that they enjoy unflinching support from Arise Ghana and we shall stand with them through thick and thin.

    “But finally, we wish to use this opportunity to call on young people of this country to remain calm as we prepare to provide them a platform where they can express their frustrations in a democratic manner.

    “We also call on the Ghana Armed Forces to remain calm as we explore democratic avenues to put this country back on the path of prosperity and bring relief to the people.

     

     

  • Bawumia outlines measures to get Ghana out of economic hardship

    Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has admitted that Ghana is currently going through an economic crisis which has brought untold hardships on many Ghanaians.

    Speaking at a Standard Charted Bank event in Accra on Wednesday (October 26), Dr. Bawumia intimated that to get out of this current situation, Ghanaians must prepare themselves for more hardship because the government will soon commence implementing tough measures to help resolve the crisis.

    The vice president went on to list the measures which he indicated the President Akufo-Addo, will soon address Ghanaians on.

    Fiscal and debt sustainability

    Dr. Bawumia indicated that the government would put together expenditure and tax measures that will ensure a reduction in government debts.

    He said that these measures are being discussed as part of the ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and will soon be made known to Ghanaians.

    “In Ghana specifically, we are dealing with an economic crisis that we have to address in different dimensions. The first and most important, which affects the confidence that we have in the economic system, is to make sure that we have fiscal and debt sustainability. This has been one of the areas where we are having discussions and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund about,” he said.

    “Restoring fiscal and debt sustainability will no doubt is not going to be easy. It will require very bold, difficult, but firm decisions. And I think these are part of the discussions that we’re having with the IMF. I’m sure once those are concluded, it will be clear that it will not be and it should not be business-as-usual because we have to adjust to the new global and domestic realities,” he added.

    Tightening foreign exchange regime:

    Dr. Bawumia went on to say the government will also be looking at the foreign exchange regime, which he described as being very loose.

    “We also have to look very clearly at our foreign exchange regime. It’s very clear that it is quite loose, and this is why we are going to be working to see how we can tighten the foreign exchange regime.

    “When the President addresses the nation, hopefully by the end of the week, some of these details will be fleshed out in more specifics. But in broad terms, I think you cannot address the current economic crisis without addressing the fiscal and debt sustainability, without addressing the production side, without addressing the foreign exchange regime and what allows us to lose a lot of foreign exchange,” he said.

    Digitalising Ghana’s economy

    The vice president further stated that addressing the digitalizing needs of Ghana is very critical to resolving the difficulties in the country.

    “But more importantly, if we are going to address this, this economy must be digitalized. And that is something we started since 2017 in earnest because no economy can really participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution without the digitalization of the economy,” he said.