The North Tongu MP doesn’t seem to be stopping his critiques of the National Cathedral’s building anytime soon.
He continues to maintain that, the project is needless and that the desire by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to continue with its building ought to be immediately reconsidered.
The legislator simply puts it, the “Cathedral revolution is long past”.
Mr. Ablakwa is not very much convinced by assertions that, building a Cathedral will spare the country of civil war.
He believes, it will rather be more appropriate to have a culture of honesty and Christian values which do not require a structure for such a purpose.
“Ivory Coast put up a very flamboyant Cathedral. Sadly, it did not stop them from suffering a civil war and conflicts. We are New Testament Christians. Let’s go back to pure and true Christian theology.”
“That doctrine is that, the Holy Ghost has been left with us, he resides in us, and our body is the temple of the Lord. So we should rather put emphasis on personal values and integrity. We are not in the Old Testament where it was about buildings. If you look at the international arena now, we are very late. The era of Cathedrals which shows that you have arrived as a country – the Cathedral revolution is long past”, the MP said.
According to Mr. Ablakwa his campaign to expose the infractions in the ongoing construction is not to run down the Christian community but rather, for the greater good of the nation.
“Let’s be clear, this is not an agenda against the Church. I am not seeking to bring down a religion that I will be nobody without. I have said time without number that where will I be without Christianity? I believe in the saving power, salvation, and grace of Jesus Christ. I am not a pagan or anti-Christ”, he emphasized in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Face to Face on Citi TV.
He further makes the point, no attempts must be made to continue committing public funds and the little state resources to the project in these crucial times.
The founder and leader of Springs of Grace and Power Embassy International, Prophet Prince Elisha Osei Kofi, has alleged that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is under a spiritual attack.
According to the prophet, the seat of the president is cursed, and everything President Akufo-Addo does will go well.
“Some spirits have come together to fight President Akufo-Addo to make sure that he does not end well. The forces are more powerful than Nana Addo, now it is beyond him.
“The president’s chair in the Jubilee House has been cursed. No matter the good intentions you have, if you sit on it you will fail. That chair has been there since the era of Kwame Nkrumah, there are a lot of spirits surrounding it. It must be changed,” he said in Twi in an Onua TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb.
The pastor advised the incoming president of Ghana, after the 2024 election, to get rid of the presidential chairs that are used to swear in the president and his vice if s/he wants to be successful.
“Anybody who by the mercy of God becomes the president of Ghana on January 7, 2025 should remove the presidential chair and that of the vice president after the swearing-in. Take those chairs to the museum and let them make new ones,” he said.
Ghana outperformed Cape Verde, which came in second on the measure with a score of 66%, by 0.5 percentage points. With a score of 65%, Nigeria finished third.
The pan-African think tank Digital Foundation Africa created the index. According to a statement they released, “the Index measures, access and ranks which of the West African states is implementing, adopting while using good policies among other uses of digital services while mapping the growth of its digital development sectors for socio-economic transformations.”
The index was compiled using about 10 variables from Mobile Money & Online transactions to Digital Infrastructure & Policy implementation.
“The Ranking would guide ECOWAS states in their approach in the implementation and development of the digital sector hence translating into how citizens transact and use digital in their daily lives. After the release of the index, activities will be held to engage governments and other stakeholders per country to help in the direction and future of the digital sector,” the statement added.
Ghana has built a strong digital economy in recent years championed by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia Bawumia, whose digital advocacy led to being named one of the most influential leaders in Africa, has postulated digitalisation as a solution to most problems plaguing African nations.
As a consequence, digitalisation has been employed as a tool to make life better for Ghanaians under the Vice President’s leadership.
Milestones achieved during the Bawumia digital era include the national identification card system (Ghana card), digital property address system, mobile money interoperability, ghana.gov platform and digitalised operations at the Ports, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Passport office etc.
Others include the National Electronic Pharmacy Platform (NEPP), use of drones to deliver medical supplies, and the complete networking of all government hospitals, plus more.
In 2022, Ghana’s digital progression was recognised by the Mobile World Congress Africa after being named the No.1.
He asserts that the implementation of new taxes in the 2023 budget will make Ghanaians’ situation worse.
Read the entire article as it appeared on www.ghanaweb.com on November 24, 2022.
Cassiel Ato Forson, the spokeswoman for the minority in parliament, has issued a warning that the 2023 budget will make Ghanaians’ situation even worse.
He asserts that the implementation of the 2.5% rise in the value-added tax will result in a further increase in the price of products and services.
“The things he outlined there are nothing but empty. What we can see is that the government is shifting the adjustment programme to the ordinary Ghanaian where the taxpayer will be made to pay more,” he said.
Government has announced an increment in Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2.5 percent for consumers of goods and services.
The move, according to government is expected to improve their domestic revenue measures while seeking to reach an IMF deal to restore macroeconomic stability.
“Mr. Speaker, we will undertake the following actions, initiatives, and interventions under the seven-point agenda. To aggressively mobilize domestic revenue, we will among others: Increase the VAT rate by 2.5 percent to directly support our roads and digitalization agenda; Fast-track the implementation of the Unified Property Rate Platform programme in 2023; and Review the E-Levy Act and more specifically, reduce the headline rate from 1.5% to one percent (1%) of the transaction value as well as the removal of the daily threshold,” he said.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, made this known in parliament when he delivered the 2023 budget before lawmakers on Thursday, November 24, 2022.
He thinks that the diaspora community is essential to Ghana’s economic growth.
Read the entire article as it appeared in its original form on Business24 on June 24, 2021.
In order to support economic progress, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Ghanaians living abroad to take advantage of the numerous investment opportunities Ghana offers.
“They also promote trade and foreign direct investments, spur entrepreneurship and transfer knowledge and skills,” the President said when he opened the maiden two-day Ghana Diaspora Investment Summit in Accra.
He also stated that the ‘Beyond the Return’campaign which has already been launched is expected to usher in a decade of Africa renaissance in the face of global pandemic.
To sustain the initiative, a Diaspora desk at the GIPC has been set, and to explore partnerships and investments, he noted.
The CEO for GIPC, Yofi Grant, indicated that “Ghana should as a way of augmenting its development plan, tap into Diaspora bonds”.
He also added that to foster growth, the country should now, more than ever explore partnerships with the Diaspora, given that the economy is moving away from a raw export to a value-addition driven economy.
The Ambassador for the Diaspora Africa Forum at the AU, Dr.Erieka Bennet, stated that government have now come to understand that, “to move Africa forward, we have to include the Diaspora”.
She also maintained the country has several offerings for persons in the Diaspora willing to do business.
The two-day summit is expected to engender a more constructive interaction with Africans in the diaspora and all people of Africa descent in areas such as trade and investment.
It is under the theme “The New Normal, leveraging Diaspora Investments to build back better” will create an avenue to foster partnerships between local Diaspora investors, and showcase Ghana as a choice destination for doing business, to sour the inflow of Diaspora Direct Investments.
The Summit is being held under the auspices of President Akufo-Addo, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ministry of Information, the Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President, Diaspora Africa Forum and Beyond the Return Secretariat under the Ghana Tourism Authority.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in October 2020 stated that the government will not use taxpayers’ money to pay depositors whose investments have been locked up in the defunct Menzgold Company Limited.
He said, “Menzgold is not a licensed financial institution. We are talking about licensed financial institutions but if you set up your 419 institutions and the Bank of Ghana warned repeatedly that people should not do business with Menzgold because they were not a licensed financial institution, so, you can’t use taxpayers’ money to pay locked-up funds of an institution that is not a licensed financial institution.”
Read the full story originally published on October 24, 2020 by Classfmonline
Dr Bawumia told Agya Owusu on Techiman-based Link89.1 FM in the Bono East Region during his recent tour of that part of Ghana that, unlike the situation where the government rescued 4.4 million depositors whose funds got locked up in some banks and specialized deposit-taking institutions who were collapsed by their regulatory authorities over infractions and insolvency, the customers of Menzgold are not entitled to such rescue since they defied all warning from the Bank of Ghana to do business with an unlicensed financial institution.
“Menzgold is not a licensed financial institution. We are talking about licensed financial institutions but if you set up your 419 institutions and the Bank of Ghana warned repeatedly that people should not do business with Menzgold because they were not a licensed financial institution, so, you can’t use taxpayers’ money to pay locked-up funds of an institution that is not a licensed financial institution,” Dr. Bawumia said.
Two weeks ago, some aggrieved customers of the gold-trading company said they deserve a bailout just like the other companies that were licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and collapsed with a “written letter” because their operations were contrary to their terms of the license.
According to the aggrieved customers, they deserve a bailout since Menzgold was under the regulation of SEC.
Bice Osei Kuffuor, the Managing Director of the Ghana Post Company Limited is confident about the chances of the New Patriotic Party in the 2024 elections.
Obour, as he is widely known believes that the key element that will decide the 2024 elections is a government’s ability to wheel its citizens out of crisis and as far as he is concerned, the NPP government has done a good job of lifting Ghanaians from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking on The Hard Truth show, Obour bragged that the NPP has already won the elections and that going to the polls on December 7, 2024, will be a mere formality.
“NPP has already broken the eight. For anybody who is making an assessment of a situation, we need to look at how you are able to come out of problems. COVID-19 was a major bomb everywhere in the world. The US, UK, and Italy all struggled with it. In Ghana, we managed it brilliantly.
“A problem will come but look at how people are able to manage themselves out of the problem. Problems happen all the time but depending on the government of the day, how did we solve the problem? Are we not solving the issues? Currently, we are going through a difficult time and it’s not a Ghana-limited problem,” he said.
Whiles Obour is sure of victory in 2024, the party itself is unsure of who will be standing on its ticket for the 2024 elections.
Former Minister of Trades and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong, and Dr Owusu Akoto Afriyie are some of the persons who have already confirmed their decision to contest the elections.
Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is also expected to run for the position as he seeks to replace his boss, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Meanwhile, the party is yet to announce a date for the holding of it Presidential and Parliamentary congress.
Daniel Yaw Domelevo, the former Auditor-General has expressed disquiet about the use of state funds on the construction of the National Cathedral.
According to him, since the concept of the project stems from Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s promise to God for making him president, the funding should be from his coffers not through state funds.
In a Joy News interview, Daniel Domelevo also criticized how the Ministry of Finance used funds from the Contingency Vote to finance portions of the project.
In the wisdom of Domelevo, the practise was illegal and untenable and must be condemned by all.
“I find the expenditure for that transaction very unfortunate. At no point should we be using public funds to fund individual people’s needs or desires. If the president desires to build a cathedral for God, he should go ahead and use his money not public funds. Even if he wants to use public funds, the constitution has laid down procedure for the use of public funds especially from the Consolidated Funds. Article 1 states that it must be in the budget approved by Parliament,” he said.
The National Cathedral has been fraught in endless controversies with the latest allegation being wrongful payment made to Reverend Kusi Boateng, a member of the cathedral’s Board of Trustees.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu is on a crusade to expose what he views as wrongful payment of state funds to certain individuals and organizations concerned with the construction of the Cathedral.
After an initial allegation that a whopping GH¢2.6 million was dished out to a company named JNS Talent Centre Limited, Ablakwa embarked on a mission to discover the persons behind the company.
Ablakwa’s investigations into the alleged payment led to the discovery of one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as a director of JNS Talent Centre.
Having confirmed the identities of two out of three directors of the centre, Ablakwa went on an expedition to discover the identity of the third director, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to his findings, citing a number of statutory documents, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is the same as Reverend Kusi Boateng, who has allegedly been operating under the pseudonym Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
In an explosive set of allegations which he describes as the Tsar Bomba of all scandals, Ablakwa claimed that Reverend Kusi Boateng holds multiple passports and identification cards with some bearing the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
“You will recall that in my earlier exposé of the scandalous GHS2.6million cash transfer from the National Cathedral Secretariat to JNS Talent Centre Limited, I pointed out that incorporation documents reveal that the three directors of JNS Talent Centre Limited are Johannes Eshun, Sheila Eshun and Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
“I also later revealed that Rev. Johannes Eshun is a branch pastor of National Cathedral Executive Council Member/Director, Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng’s Power Chapel Worldwide.
“Hitherto, the third director—Mr. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi has remained a mystery figure.
“I am now able to reveal the true identity of this mystery director of JNS, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
“Definitely, the code has finally been cracked and it shocks to the marrow!
“Unimpeachable and incontrovertible evidence confirms that Mr. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is the famous Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng who still serves on the National Cathedral Board as an Executive Council Member/Director.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no distinct Kwabena Adu Gyamfi. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is a criminal creation of Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng. The two are therefore one and the same.
“Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi thought he had outwitted every Ghanaian, particularly our authorities whom he dribbled for many years; but the day of reckoning is finally here.
“From unassailable and irreproachable documents in my possession, Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi uses multiple passports and multiple identification cards with different names and different dates of birth as his special modus operandi,” he wrote on Facebook.
One of the best things you can do for yourself to turn your money situation around is to review the budget that you had for the past month and see where things went wrong. Taking a closer look at your spending will show you all the bad money habits that you need to start doing away with in order to turn things around for your account.
2. Unlink your Mobile Money from your bank account
3. Switch to a group Netflix/Spotify/Apple Music plan
If you’re going solo on any of your streaming subscriptions then you probably deserve the broke-ness that’s following you. Most of the streaming services that you use have family plans that you can get with your friends and split the bill for. It’s an easy way to cut back on some of the money that you’re leaking.
4. Start thinking of thoughtful Valentine’s gifts
Everyone knows that valentine’s day is one of the more expensive periods at the beginning of the year. If you’re all coupled up, there’s still a chance for you to save your bank account from taking a bloody combination to the face. Just start thinking of the most thoughtful gifts you can get your person. That way you can deliver on the thought that counts and leave your coins in your account.
Dr Kobby Mensah, a lecturer at the University of Ghana and a political communication expert, has ranked the Akufo-Addo-led administration as the worst in history.
According to the lecturer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s legacy as president is disastrous.
He likened Nana Addo’s government to that of former President John Agyekum Kufour, arguing that before Nana Addo was elected, Many Ghanaians believed that he would be a better leader than the latter.
“Before Nana Addo came, I think within the NPP, most people to be honest with you a lot of people with all due respect, didn’t even think that president Kufour was better than Nana Addo. For a lot of people within the NPP,” he said.
Speaking in an interview on Neat FM monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr Kobby Mensah added that due to Ghanaians’ high hopes for President Akufo-Addo, they held the opinion that Kufuor’s administration was paving the path for him to engage in a significant economic upturn.
“It was as if president Kufuor was John the Baptist and Nana Addo was Jesus Christ. That he was coming to prepare the way for Nana Addo’s government. So, the majority of people in NPP were actually expecting Nana Addo’s presidency more than they expected Kufour’s presidency. And they did not give the due to president Kufour until Nana Addo came to power. So, the question is where is the legacy?
He concluded by saying that Nana Addo’s administration is an abject failure and there is no way for future generations to compare its accomplishments to that of the previous presidents.
“…in history or some years to come, we’re going to refer to president Kufour’s NPP and Nana Addo’s NPP. I don’t think you can actually compare the two. So, the cost again is that the legacy that Nana Addo is going to leave, I think that is going to be very disastrous.
Founder and Leader of Heaven’s Gate Ministries, Prophet Nicholas Osei popularly known as Kumchacha has stated that American rapper Meek Mill who shot a music video at the Jubilee House of Ghana took advantage of the country’s weak security system.
Making his submission in an interview with Onua FM monitored by GhanaWeb, the man of God claimed that Meek Mill would not have been able to film the music video in the Jubilee house if the nation’s security apparatus had been in full effect.
“Do you know that the system is weak? if the system is not weak how can a guy from America go and sing at the Jubilee House? That guy shouldn’t even be blamed. I learnt people were blaming him but he shouldn’t be blamed. Because when he came to Ghana, he realized the weak security system and took advantage of it. So, Meek Mill came to Ghana and did this, how?” he questioned.
Meek Mill who performed at the Afrochella event in Accra, was later spotted with the President at the Jubilee House together with Akufo-Addo’s daughter who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Creative Arts Council.
Ghanaians expressed outrage after the American rapper released a video of a song he shot at the Jubilee House.
The video saw portions of the Presidency, from the frontage, through the main corridors, in the main conference hall, and behind the presidential lectern causing Ghanaians to fume, describing the art as a denigration of the seat.
He later deleted the video and subsequently apologised saying he never meant to insult Ghanaians.
Yaw Adomako Baafi, a former Communications Director for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has refuted suggestions that vice president Mahamudu Bawumia is responsible for the meltdown of Ghana’s economy because he is the head of the country’s Economic Management Team (EMT).
According to him, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is solely responsible for the performance of Ghana’s economy and the EMT is only an advisory body.
Speaking in an Okay FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Adomako Baafi added that arguments that Bawumia cannot be the flagbearer of the NPP because of the performance of the economy are flawed because other members of the EMT are also contesting to be the party’s candidate for the 2024 presidential elections.
“The economic management team is just an advisory body; they don’t implement anything. And even if it is so, Alan Kyerematen was part of the Economic Management Team, the agriculture minister (Dr Afriyie Akoto) was also part of the Economic Management Team.
“All the people who are contesting for the flagbearership position of the NPP were part of the EMT. The work of the EMT is a team work so Bawumia cannot blamed if things are not going well,” he said in the Twi dialect.
The former NPP communication director also refuted suggestions that Bawumia cannot be the flagbearer of the NPP, because he is new to the party.
He said that the number of years one has served in a party should not matter in the selection of a presidential candidate and that the most important factor that is to be considered is competence.
He added that Bawumia has proven that he can led Ghana by the way he assisted President Akufo-Addo in developing the country.
President of Pro-Forum and former Ghana Ambassador to India Sam Pee Yalley has described the controversial National Cathedral project as an avenue for the government to embezzle state funds.
He likened the project to a fish pond stocked with fortunes.
“Even in the name of God, they have found an avenue to steal state funds,” Mr Yalley said in an interview monitored by 3news.com.
“This is not a Cathedral, it is a national fish pond.”
Former Ambassador Sam Pee Yalley also touched on the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme currently being tabled by government to address the country’s heavy debt.
To him, “Ghana has gone under 7 years of fraudulent governance”.
He accused the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, of destroying all the legacies John Dramani Mahama built whiles in power.
“Before Ofori-Atta took up the position as Finance Minister, Mahama had done huge investment. But, immediately, he assumed office he began mismanaging things,” he said.
He described the Programme as fraudulent.
“Nobody trusts the government anymore. Many programmes this government has embarked has turned out to be fraud.”
Some students of the Mensah Sarbah hall of the University of Ghana have sued the management of the school for denying them access to their halls.
The students believe this is an infringement on their fundamental human rights to education, freedom from unlawful discrimination and fair administrative justice guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
They want the court to enforce these rights.
Students of the University of Ghana (UG), have been left stranded on campus following the university’s new residential policy.
On Monday, January 16, 2023, some affected students of Commonwealth hall numbering about 40 were turned away by security personnel of the school from accessing their hall.
Host of Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom Otchere, has asserted that Reverend Kusi Boateng, a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral has predicted all presidential election results correctly since 1992.
Marking his submission on his Good Evening Ghana show on January 20, 2023, the Board Chair of the Ghana Airport Company Limited revealed that, Rev Kusi Boateng foretold President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo about his defeats in the general elections of 2008 and 2012 as well as his eventual victories in the 2016 and 2021 elections.
“Now here is a man Rev Kusi Boateng, I will tell you the story. Who has predicted correctly as they tell us every election since 1992? In 1992 he predicted that JJ Rawlings will win the election and he won …in 2000 he predicted that the NPP will come to power through JA Kuffour and that happened, and in 2004 it happened. 2008 is the interesting one.
“So, in 2008 Rev Kusi Boateng. You can understand his history because of his father. Eeerm ‘the buckler’ I would like to call it with the soldiers, he doesn’t really like political parties coming out of the PNDC. So, NDC is not something that he is thinking about because he will say or as some people say ‘they killed my father’.
“But in 2008 he is reported to have met President Akufo-Addo in Kumasi and had told him, sir, this election you are going to lose narrowly but I can see God telling me that you will be president of Ghana.
“But in this election, you’re not going to be successful, you’re going to lose narrowly… So, as soon as that happened, the people who heard him said wow this guy said it, this prophet said it. So, in 2012 let’s go back to him again.”
He added “In 2012 Rev Kusi Boateng then engaged with Akufo-Addo’s people again, and he told them that I’m very sorry to say, this time again you will not win but I see you going to court, and you will win the court case, but it doesn’t make you the president.
“…then in 2016 Rev Kusi Boateng predicted a landslide victory for Akufo-Addo and it happened. So, from that time, he became friends with the people.
Paul Adom Otchere furthered that Rev Kusi Boateng has also foretold that the NPP would win the general elections of 2024, but the election will be marred by violence.
Meanwhile, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a Member of Parliament for North Tongu who has been a staunch advocate against the construction of the National Cathedral, on grounds that the timing, location and process are wrong has made some allegations against Reverend Kusi Boateng.
In his latest set of allegations, Okudzeto Ablakwa sought to establish that Reverend Kusi Boateng was actively operating with two different identities.
“As I revealed on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme a while ago; when Paul Adom Otchere claimed on his show last night that Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi was advised to use his mother’s name following the demise of his father; what Paul didn’t want Ghanaians to discover is the fact that in addition to the double dates of birth and double TINs; Rev. Kusi Boateng also mystifyingly claims to have two biological mothers.
“On the 13th of August, 2013 when he filled his Taxpayer Registration Form at the GRA under the name Victor Kusi Boateng with a date of birth of September 7, 1971; he declared that his mother’s maiden last name is Ataah, and her first name is Agnes.
“He was subsequently given a Taxpayer Identification Number for his Victor Kusi Boateng name as P0002502682.
“Curiously, on the 24th of March, 2016 he returned to the GRA, this time with the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi and date of birth of December 30, 1969. He strangely declared a different biological mother with a maiden last name of Gyamfua and a first name of Yaa.
“This is how he secured another TIN — P000627241X.
“Interestingly, he declared on the forms that he is not a registered taxpayer even though he was and already had a TIN.
“Therefore, from unimpeachable official records, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng miraculously has two biological mothers — Yaa Gyamfua and Agnes Ataah. (See copies attached)”, he posted on social media.
Samuel Pyne, the mayor of Kumasi was unable to hold his anger following persistent heckling from a former General Secretary of the People’s National Convention during a panel discussion on Asempa FM.
Sam Pyne was making a case for the National Cathedral and criticizing Okudzeto Ablakwa’s “campaign” against Reverend Kusi Boateng, a member of the Board of Trustees of the cathedral project.
He first sought to dismiss claims of double identity against Reverend Kusi Boateng, as alleged by Ablakwa, by using himself as an example.
“My baptism card has Samuel Kwabena Sakyi. My O’ level certificate has Samuel Pyne. My A level has Samuel Cobbinah Pyne. They wrote the Kwabena like how Fantes does theirs. I never used my A-level for training college. I used my A-level,” he said.
He then moved on to justify why it is appropriate for the government to build a cathedral for the country.
He rebuffed the notion that the cathedral is a promise of the president to his God and therefore should not be built with state funds.
“I support the Cathedral 300%. I have contributed to the project because I know God and what God has done for me. The NDC started desecrating that project from the first day. They’ve not seen anything good with it. They argue that the cathedral is the president’s personal wish so he should fund it, why don’t they say same about Free SHS”, he said.
Atik Mohammed, the former PNC scribe, also a panelist then interjected: “the Free SHS is for the public so he can use the public money.”
Sam Pyne fired back “is the cathedral for his father or when he is leaving office he will go with it.”.
Despite repeated calls by the host of the show for Atik Mohammed to desist from heckling, Sam Pyne, Atik continued with Sam Pyne occasionally lamenting about how it was affecting his presentation.
Meanwhile, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said that the National Cathedral could cost the country $1billion.
He is concerned particularly by the amount of public funds dedicated to the project despite earlier government communication that it will be funded by the Christian community.
“My analysis is that this project is more than a billion dollars, it is more than a billion dollars by the time we are done paying for the recklessness of president Akufo-Addo,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Radio Gold (January 18).
A group of Pentecostals is calling for the immediate resignation of the chairman of the board of trustees of the National Cathedral Professor Opoku Nyinah.
According to the group, the continuous stay of Professor Opoku Nyinah as the board chairman amidst controversies ridicules the Church of Pentecost as he is the immediate past chairman.
In a press release, the convener Timothy Atayaa added that it is an open secret many Ghanaians, including Pentecostals, are not happy with this project and as such, are not happy with any person involved in this project, not excluding our Professor Opoku Onyinah.
“We wish to express disappointment over the involvement of our immediate past chairman, Professor Opoku Onyinah, in the controversial National Cathedral project, as he is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
“The National Cathedral project, which came about as the fulfilment of a personal pledge by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is one of the most criticized projects in Ghana today, having been shrouded in a lot of shady dealings, the unconstitutional and illegal use of public resources, and all of kinds controversies surrounding the project.
“We are not against the building of a cathedral, but considering the manner in which this particular project was conceived and how it is being executed, coupled with the time at which it is being executed, there are a lot of question marks about this project, the statement added
Below is the press release:
19/01/2023
PROFESSOR OPOKU NYINAH SHOULD RESIGN AS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OVER THE CONTROVERSIAL NATIONAL CATHEDRAL PROJECT
We wish to express disappointment over the involvement of our immediate past chairman, Professor Opoku Onyinah, in the controversial National Cathedral project, as he is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The National Cathedral project, which came about as the fulfilment of a personal pledge by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is one of the most criticized projects in Ghana today, having been shrouded in a lot of shady dealings, the unconstitutional and illegal use of public resources, and all of kinds controversies surrounding the project.
We are not against the building of a cathedral, but considering the manner in which this particular project was conceived and how it is being executed, coupled with the time at which it is being executed, there are a lot of question marks about this project.
The president initially told Ghanaians that the project was not going to cost the taxpayer even a cedi, but what we see today is that a lot of public and private buildings have been pulled down at the expense of the taxpayer. Also, state resources are being illegally and dubiously channelled into this project in these excruciatingly hard times, with people being paid with the taxpayer’s money for no work done on this project, among many others.
There are numerous places in Ghana where we can converge to seek the face of God so why still insist on carrying out this project even at a time the economy is critically seeking life support from the IMF? At a time when Ghanaian children are still studying under trees, some having to lie on their stomachs to learn in school, and with no textbooks, and even schools without chalks for teaching, not to even talk about computers? We are also in a period where SHSs across the country have no food to feed our children, our health insurance is almost collapsed, hospitals are without beds and it is the very time the president wants to build a cathedral. Are we serious as a country?
The Church of Pentecost recently handed over a prison facility to the state, and even though it is part of our social responsibility, this is first the primary responsibility of the government. At the time, the current Chairman of the church, Prophet Opoku Onyinah, did not envisage the need for a national cathedral.
Also, the open secret is that many Ghanaians, including Pentecostals, are not happy with this project and as such, are not happy with any person involved in this project, not excluding our very own Professor Opoku Onyinah.
We, therefore, call for the resignation of Professor Opoku Onyinah, who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, as his continuous involvement ridicules the Church of Pentecost.
Convener Concerned Pentecostals Timothy Ataaya The Church of Pentecost
Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado-Ketan, Mr Joe Ghartey, has officially informed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of his intention to contest in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential primaries slated for the latter parts of 2023.
Mr Ghartey who was a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice paid a courtesy call on the President at the Jubilee House, in Accra, to inform him of his Presidential ambition.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Ghartey said the call afforded him the opportunity to, among other things, thank the President for the confidence reposed in him during his first term of office when he found him worthy of serving as the Minister of Railways Development.
Mr Ghartey assured the President that he and his team would run a decent campaign for the flagbearership position, and work hard for the party to retain power beyond 2024.
Mr Ghartey made it clear that he would take immediate action if any member of his team became wayward and attacked others unnecessarily.
He thanked the President for taking time off his busy schedule to meet with him and wished him and the Government well.
President Akufo-Addo wished Mr Ghartey well saying his desire was to ensure that NPP retained power in 2024 and beyond.
He said his role was to ensure a fair playing field and was prepared to support anyone who emerged victorious in the primaries, while calling for a decent campaign.
He remarked that in order to have a strong economy, greater policies will be necessary.
Read the full story originally published on December 20, 2022 by www.ghanaweb.com.
2023 has been predicted by Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to be the year when the country’s economy recovers.
In order to create a better economy, he claims that tougher policies will be necessary.
On December 19, 2022, he stated that “2023 must be our “comeback” year” in an update on the economy. A year in which we established more solid foundations that would enable us to improve our nation in a lasting, inclusive, and transformative manner.
The minister called on Ghana’s Parliament to fast-track the passing of the Appropriations Bill for the 2023 fiscal year.
“We also urge Parliament to support in particular new revenue measures outlined in the 2023 budget which aim to improve revenue mobilization. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of 2022”, he disclosed after giving an update on the economy,” he added.
The finance minister also announced that the government, after consultations with stakeholders, has extended the date for enrollment in the debt exchange program to December 30, 2022.
“Above all, I urge us all to maintain an unshakeable sense of optimism about Ghana in the days and years ahead. Indeed, “the LORD is the Lifter of our heads” (Psalm 3:4), as we all witness a new confidence in our currency and the prospects of the certainty of an IMF Board approval of our Staff Level Agreement,” Ofori-Atta concluded.
Government to extend expiration date for domestic debt exchange to December 30 – Ofori-Atta
A member of the National Cathedral Board of Trustees, Rev. Joyce Aryee, says the trustees are not privy to the total seed money government is committing to the project.
“I’m still looking for it, I think that’s the question we need to go and ask–Since the state said it will give us seed money, what percentage is it giving? …No, we were not told, we were just told seed money, and we have relied on the seed money the government will find from time to time. We have not been told the exact amount the seed money is,” she told Umaru Sanda Amadu in an interview on Eyewitness News on Thursday.
When asked how the board of trustees was operating without the knowledge of government’s commitment, she noted that in such instances, they assume that they are supposed to raise the total budget and consider “the other one [government’s seed money] as a gift. It will be wonderful when the other person [government] brings his gift, otherwise, I’m building [the project without it]”.
She stated that the Articles of Incorporation make the board of trustees the project owners.
“Actually the Articles of Incorporation make us the project owners [board of trustees]. It will be a national monument,” she stressed.
The member of the National Cathedral Board of Trustees stated that they were assigned to raise funds while the government will also support them with other stuff.
“The project was never meant to be fully financed by the state and when we were called, that is what we were told. The state will do certain things and we the members of the board were to make sure that we raise the money to build the Cathedral. It was never meant to be fully financed by the state,” Rev. Joyce Aryee clarified.
She stated that the board members were not building blindly because the seed money is not the whole money for the construction of the National Cathedral.
“We are not building blindly because the seed money is not the entire money for the project,” She underscored.
The National Cathedral has always been in the news for the wrong reasons with the recent one being a GH¢2.6 million scandal currently being probed by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
Background of National Cathedral
The National Cathedral is a promise President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made to God ahead of the 2016 general elections.
Nana Akufo-Addo said he promised to build a national cathedral for God if he became president and pushed for the project after he was sworn into office in 2017.
He described the project as a “priority among priorities” but however said it will be funded by the Christian community.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta in 2018 explained that: “The state is facilitating this process by providing the land, the Secretariat, and seed money for the preparatory phase. This National Cathedral partnership framework operationalizes, and indeed is a practical expression of the social partnership envisaged to foster participatory development of the country as our collective goal.”
Although the initial budget was pegged at $100 million, the amount has over the years ballooned to almost $400 million.
Gov’t releases GH¢25m seed money
Government in June 2022 granted the release of GH¢25 million to the National Cathedral Secretariat as additional seed money for the construction of the project.
A letter, signed by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to the Controller and Accountant’s General, directed that the money be credited to Ribade Limited, for part payment of outstanding claims.
“Authority is hereby granted to you to release the sum [of] GH¢25, 000,000.00 as additional seed money to the National Cathedral Secretariat for the construction of the National Cathedral for part payment of outstanding claims from RIBADE Limited,” the letter added.
Government has also released several amounts of money towards the project which is currently at the ground level.
Former District Chief Executive (DCE) for Sekyere Afram Plains and a staunch member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Fuseini Donkor has envisaged that nothing can stop Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia from becoming the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)
He disclosed that over the period, Dr Bawumia has become popular at the grassroots level in the party and that is easy to be manifested during the polls.
According to him, current President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is aware the party does not like it when a sitting president imposes a presidential candidate on them the reason, he is very tactical in openly supporting his popular Vice President.
According to him, Former President Kufuor tried to impose John Alan Kyeremanten on the party in 2008 but failed because the party members did buy into that idea.
Speaking on Nhyira Fm monitored by MyNewsGh.com in Kumasi, Fuseini Donkor revealed that, “Kufuor felt Ghana would be safe in the hands of Alan than Nana Addo but the party also said they knew him (Akufo-Addo) long ago so the party defied President Kufuor”.
He further explained that, because the NPP party does not want Presidents to choose a leader for them, “that is why they (Akufo-Addo and co) were smart enough to lay the foundation on the grounds for Bawumia. So on the grounds, they’ve already built everything for Bawumia”
He dismissed assertions made by some government officials that former President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC would have caused more harm had they been in power.
“Nonsense, instead of Nana Addo and the NPP accepting responsibility for the worst economic crisis ever as a result of their careless borrowing, flagrant mismanagement, and overt corruption, their pathetic and untenable justification is that “oh, it would have been worse if JM or the NDC was in charge” really, Nonsense!”
“Shouldn’t consultations and negotiations with stakeholders have been done way back to inform the way forward in terms of the debt restructuring? The Nana Addo and NPP government you will agree, has a penchant for doing consultations only when there is a push back or resistance,” Mr. Apaak stated in a tweet.
The government has set up a joint technical committee comprising representatives of the Ministry of Finance and leaders of individual bondholders after some agitation from the Individual Bondholders Forum.
The team is expected to commence work on Thursday, January 19, 2023.
“The engagement will be continued to make sure that we all understand where we are and what we have to do to go forward and as we indicated, get on a common path as we mentioned. A technical committee will be set up and will consist of two members from the individual bondholders’ forum, and we will have our first meeting on January 19, 2023,″ the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta stated.
The average performance of the local currency has been one of the finest in previous years, he claimed, despite the cedi being under pressure.
“External factors have been the main cause of the cedi’s pressure, as we have witnessed. The average performance of the dollar has actually been among the greatest in recent years, notwithstanding the high volatility seen this year, according to Ken Ofori-Atta.
View the complete article written by dailyguideafrica originally on July 19, 2018
The cedi hit a record low in May and June this year touching GHC4.8250 to the dollar.
Presenting the mid-year budget review before parliament on Thursday, 19 July 2018, Ofori-Atta said the depreciation of the cedi in the first six months of 2018 has been the best since 2012.
He said: “We have seen the cedi come under pressure primarily due to external pressures. In fact, aside from the strong volatility recorded this year, the average performance of the dollar has been one of the best in recent years.
“A further interrogation of data from the Bank of Ghana showed that the depreciation of the first-half, six months of 2018, has been the best since 2012. It is instructive to note that from January 2018 to June 2018, the depreciation of the Ghana cedi against the dollar was 2.4% as against 17.2% in 2012, 3.6% in 2016, 3.7% in 2017.
“If this is anything to go by, it means that the 2018 performance of the Ghana cedi is likely to be better than even the 4.9% we experienced in 2017 which was an all-time low compared to the four years of the Mahama administration.”
The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Godfred Dame, had said that the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has brought unparalleled improvement to the justice delivery system of Ghana.
According to him, not only has the government brought a much-needed improvement in the human capacity of his ministry and its agencies, but it has also equipped them with the tools to ensure effective justice delivery.
The minister, who made these remarks in a Good Evening Ghana interview monitored by GhanaWeb, went on to list some of the New Patriotic Party government’s achievements in his ministry.
Human Capacity:
Godfred said that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government has boosted the human resource capacity of his ministry by recruiting about 200 attorneys since 2017.
“Last year, 70 attorneys were recruited, the year before 2021, another 70 were recruited. During Madame Gloria Akuffo’s time, another 60 or 70 were recruited… and this year I have applied for financial clearance to recruit about 50 or 60 more,” he said.
He added that the government has also been offering regular training to state attorneys both locally and internationally, with about 5 of them currently undergoing training abroad.
Infrastructure:
The attorney general also said the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government will soon complete the Law House, which has been under construction since 2003.
He stated that the Law House would be completed within a year and used as office space for the minister and its agencies.
“When I came, I ensured that there was an earnest construction of the project, and I am sure that in about six months or so the Law House will be done… from a state where it was 35 percent complete when I assumed office,” he said.
Equipment:
In the area of tools and equipment, he said that some of his agencies did not even have vehicles to run their operations, but between 2017 and 2023, the government procured a lot of vehicles for these agencies.
“My predecessor Madame Gloria Akuffo, believed there were 27 vehicles. Last year, in 2022, on account of the support of the minister of finance and the president’s decision at cabinet, I delivered 91 vehicles.
“The Law Reform Commission had only one vehicle, which was way back in 1997; Legal Aid had only about three or four vehicles… I doubled the stock of vehicles available to each agency and each regional office,” he said.
The cost of power will increase by 29.96% as of February 1, 2023.
However, in an interview with Starr News, Nana Amoasi, Executive Director of IES, adamantly asserts that the increment might have been lower if PURC’s predictions for the composition of the energy generation mix had been accurate.
We can force PURC to reevaluate its assumption between now and then in order to correct them. Consumers won’t be required to pay the predetermined 29% or 30% if they make the correction.
The Minister committed to this when he and Secretary John Kerry of the UK served as co-chairs of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) on January 18, 2023, in Davos, Switzerland, in conjunction with the World Economic Forum.
Together with Secretary John Kerry, the Lands Minister held two separate meetings with Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to find ways of working together to achieve the ambitious objective of the FCLP to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, whilst delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.
He also noted that achieving this high ambition of the FCLP, requires that the teams work closely with these major forest countries.
Already, together with Indonesia, Brazil, and DRC the Minister said they have formed the Indonesia-Brazil-Congo (IBC) rainforest alliance, to protect their forests, adding that together, these three countries control over fifty percent (50%) of global tropical forests, and are crucial to global efforts at halting deforestation.
Abu Jinapor made a clarion call for all efforts to be marshaled to fight climate change saying” the climate crisis is reaching a tipping point, and requires an all-hands-on-deck approach to come to grips with this crisis.”
The delegation from Brazil was led by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva and the DRC delegation was led by the Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Environment, Hon. Eve Bazaiba Masudi.
The Amazon Rainforest is said to be the largest tropical rainforest in the world, and some sixty percent (60%) of this tropical rainforest is found in the territories of Brazil. The Congo Basin is the second largest rainforest in the world, and about sixty percent (60%) of this is found in DRC’s territory.
Leader of the Minority in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has revealed that his side of the House is working to subject the debt exchange programme to legal scrutiny.
Speaking to the media, he noted that Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta may have breached Article 181(5) of the Constitution, which requires the government to seek approval from Parliament before announcing any haircut on all government bonds, loans, and instruments.
“We are even beginning to elevate this matter to a legal constitutional matter as to whether or not the Minister of Finance, suo moto, by himself as an individual can undo what the sovereign Parliament of Ghana has done pursuant to Article 181(5) of the constitution,” he said.
“All those loans, all those bonds, all those instruments whose terms and conditions were approved by Parliament, including the debt of domestic bonds, contractual relationships have been entered into. How can the Finance Minister allocate to himself the mandate to do this even without providing information to Parliament or with its prior approval?” he questioned.
Article 181(5) of the 1992 Constitution requires that all international business or economic transactions to which the government is a party must be laid before Parliament for approval before they can come into effect.
Mr Iddrisu, therefore, urged the government to halt ongoing processes related to its debt exchange program, which is intended to keep the country from defaulting on its debt.
At a press conference on Monday, Mr Iddrisu noted that there is “total confusion, rejection, and disapproval of the initiative” since it was launched by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in December last year.
According to him, the opposition is justified since the programme poses a major risk to financial institutions, insurance companies, as well as individual bondholders who have recently been included in the programme.
“The programme will exacerbate the already perilous financial sector that we have in Ghana,” he added.
The Tamale South legislator, therefore, said, “We in the NDC, the Minority group, call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to immediately suspend the ongoing debt exchange programme.”
In an attempt to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government has proposed that all bondholders will not receive any interest in 2023.
As per government estimates, dividends will begin to be paid next year, in 2024, at a discounted rate of 5%. Due to this, bondholders who wish to transfer their bonds will not be able to get back their full principal.
The proposal, however, has been rejected by many bondholders since its announcement. Their view is that if the proposal is implemented, they will suffer a great deal of loss, and some may even lose money on their investments.
The Minority’s call seeks to add to the numerous voices urging the government to restrain from implementing the debt exchange programme. Mr Haruna Iddrisu believes that unemployment will heighten and support for the private sector will dwindle if the programme is implemented in its current state.
In the meantime, the government has extended the deadline for the domestic debt exchange programme to January 31, 2022. This is the fourth time the government has extended its deadline, and according to the Finance Ministry, the programme has been suspended yet again due to “pending further stakeholder engagement with institutional and individual investors.”
The organisation claims that because it will have an impact on their way of life, the government’s decision to include them in the programme is unlawful.
The newly combined Individual Bondholders Association and Individual Bondholders Forum stated that the government must take action to exempt them from the scheme based on their calculations.
“For us it is simple, all the numbers show that the government has to just exempt individual bondholders, and that the deal is withdrawn. The offer that you are asking us to take just withdraw it. There is enough money in the budget, more than enough, and all that the government has to do is cut down on expenditure.
Mr. Kpebu further explained that with just Ghc500 one can have a bond and some of the members have holdings of 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 Ghana cedis which he said is very small.
“But they plan their lives with the aim that this month this bond will mature, I will get 500ghc here and next month I will get 1,000ghc. Like they say, Accra stay by plan. Those are investments that people survive on, they are not luxury, they are not just saving for the sake of savings,” he added.
The government has extended the deadline for the Debt Exchange Programme to Tuesday, January 31, to enable it to build consensus for the programme.
This is the third time the government has extended the deadline for the bondholders to voluntarily exchange their bonds for new ones.
To instill trust in the failing economy, chartered economist Emmanuel Amoah Darkwah has resisted putting “sweeping reforms” into place.
He said despite several suggestions, the government had taken an entrenched position.
Ghana, he noted, was in debt distress, and the only out was for the government to roll out sweeping fiscal reforms to address our crisis.
He said it would be prudent for the government to initiate measures to save the country money, especially in these critical moments.
Mr. Amoah averred that the interest payments are rising to 52 billion, and that is not sustainable.
He said if care was not taken government workers would not be paid since the chunk of the revenue goes into paying interest.
He added that if the government wants the debt restructuring to succeed, then there should be some level of fiscal discipline on the part of the government.
Amoah Darkwah went on to say that the government should be reduced in size.
He stated that the government should not be hesitant to maintain fiscal discipline if the debt exchange programme is to be successful.
Ato Forson has also reiterated his call for the embattled minister to be removed and the economy handed to a more competent driver to steer the economic ship to a safe destination.
What Ato Forson said
“Every reckless driver is referred to as ‘driver banza’ in my local parlance … if you are in a car with such a driver, people get angry and demand that he descends so that another person takes control of the car and drive it to safety.
“Where we have gotten to, the finance minister is a reckless driver, he has taken this country to a point of no return, he has driven this country into a ditch.
Ofori-Atta had a challenging 2022 with the Minority Caucus demanding his resignation over the economic downturn.
Internally, a group of 80 plus New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs publicly demanded his resignation over a similar demand, standing down after a presidential intervention.
A deal for him to present the 2023 budget and see out appropriation as well as to complete initial engagement with the IMF has elapsed, with the Majority Caucus hinting that they would soon approach the president to redeem a promise to act on Ofori-Atta.
Background
Ghana had a torrid 2022 amid an economic crisis that forced the government to seek an International Monetary Fund (IMF) facility at a time when the cedi was rapidly depreciating, inflation was galloping, and the government was faced with multiple downgrades by rating agencies.
The government has repeatedly blamed the crisis partly on the aftershocks of the COVID pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
It has promised to turn around the economic fortunes of the country after sealing a staff-level agreement with the IMF late last year, with hopes that funds from the US$3 billion facility will be released early this year.
The government is hamstrung by hurdles as it attempts to secure a deal with its Domestic Debt Exchange programme.
Organized labour successfully fought off plans to include pensions in the DDE; now individual bondholders are also rejecting plans to include them.
Treasury bills were left out of the debt swap program, which is thought to be the cause of the oversubscription.
On January 13, 2022, the government’s most recent auction raised more money than its goal of GH1,125 million.
The findings revealed that GH1.72 billion was accepted from the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day bills, exceeding the stated target by GH588 million.
Out of the GH198.49 offered for the 182-day bill, everything was accepted at an interest rate of 35.83%, yielding GH1,478.84 at a 35.46% rate of interest.
For the 364-day T-bill, the government secured ¢43.34 million but accepted ¢36.08 million of the bids tendered. The interest rate for the instrument was however 35.91%.
Since the program’s debut on December 5, 2022, there have been three extensions.
The Ministry of Finance explained that the delay was necessary owing to ongoing stakeholder discussions with institutional and individual investors who have recently been asked to participate in the debt exchange program in a tweet seen by GhanaWeb Business.
As part of efforts to secure an IMF bailout and address the country’s unsustainable debt situation, government launched the DDEP inviting bondholders to voluntarily exchange approximately GH¢137 billion domestic notes and bonds of the Republic including ESLA and Daakye for a package of new bonds.
In the wake of this, various groups of bondholders in the financial sector have called on their members to reject government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme due to a lack of broader consultations and negotiations.
He has made hints that the NPP will soon respond to a seven-point list by NDC lawmaker Cassiel Ato Forson that blames the economic crisis on the government’s acts and inactions.
Ahiagbah justifies his assertions.
He claims that the NDC has refused to be up front with Ghanaians about its analysis of the causes of the nation’s current economic slump.
He is concerned that the party continues to deny the role that global factors play in the current challenges.
His views were contained in a tweet dated January 16, 2023. It read as follows:
“Will the NDC ever be honest with Ghanaians? Their continuous denial of the global factors impacting Ghana confirms why Ghanaians say the NDC is incompetent. A fuller response will be given soon to Hon. Ato Forson’s twisted reasons.”
Who Ahiagbah was responding to:
The NPP communications head was referring to a social media post over the weekend by former deputy minister of finance Cassiel Ato Forson, who outlined seven causes for the current economic challenges.
In his post, Ato Forson listed how the bloated size of government, especially within the executive and state-owned enterprises, had contributed to depleting government revenue and thereby threatened to tank the economy.
Background
Ghana had a torrid 2022 amid an economic crisis that forced the government to seek an International Monetary Fund (IMF) facility at a time when the cedi was rapidly depreciating, inflation was galloping, and the government was faced with multiple downgrades by rating agencies.
The government has repeatedly blamed the crisis partly on the aftershocks of the COVID pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
It has promised to turn around the economic fortunes of the country after sealing a staff-level agreement with the IMF late last year, with hopes that funds from the US$3 billion facility will be released early this year.
The government is hamstrung by hurdles as it attempts to secure a deal with its Domestic Debt Exchange programme.
Organized labour successfully fought off plans to include pensions in the DDE; now individual bondholders are also rejecting plans to include them.
He claimed that the action will worsen the already weak economy.
Bright Simons said, “Persons all heated up about how the economic crisis will now compel upper middle class folks to join the political fight for more accountability,” in a tweet that GhanaWeb Business was able to catch. I’m sorry to bust your bubble, but it will only encourage them to seek out additional foreign investment opportunities, which will worsen Ghana’s economic [issues].
His comment comes after Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, urged government to engage in further dialogue on the implementation of its domestic debt exchange programme.
According to the majority leader, the programme requires more engagement as it has the potential of wiping away the country’s middle class.
Government of Ghana is seeking to revive the economy through a $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan.
As part of its efforts to meet the conditions required for the loan, government has announced a domestic debt exchange programme aimed at varying the terms of existing government bonds.
Meanwhile, goverment has extended the deadline for the expiration of the debt exchange programme to January 31, 2023.
But the Minority in Parliament has asked government to as a matter of urgency suspend the debt exchange programme.
While making submissions on Joy News’ Newsfile programme last Saturday, he submitted that the Mahama government had two homegrown solutions to the economic crunch at the time.
He is concerned that the current government announced the July 1 IMF plan without a homegrown programme stressing that the IMF does not draw a programme for any applicant except to support them through an in-house plan.
“In 2014, when the government made the announcement on April 6, there was a document on hand. Drawing from the Senchi Consensus. There was also the Ghana Growth and Shared Development Agenda II of 2014 to 2017.
“So, before the president (John Mahama) then made the announcement, there was a homegrown programme, so it made it a bit easier engaging the fund because we had a programme because the Fund doesn’t develop a programme for any country, that is why it is called a Ghana government programme supported by the IMF,” he stressed.
He also averred that the IMF programme alone is not enough to solve the current crisis because the country is in an unsustainable debt situation.
President Akufo-Addo ordered Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta via a July 1 statement to present an economic rescue programme to the IMF.
A team from the Fund led by Carlo Sdralevich has since visited Ghana between July 6 – 13, meeting with relevant stakeholders.
Samuel Koku Anyidoho, the former deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has shared his views on the story of the eight students of Chiana Senior High School who insulted President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a viral video.
Koku Anyidoho in a social media post lambasted the girls, stating that they were lucky to find themselves in a jurisdiction where laws on such issues are not in the extreme.
Koku Anyidoho also noted that the girls should thank their stars for having a president who is kind enough to intervene in the decision by the Ghana Education Service to dismiss them.
He expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo over his decision to ask the GES to reverse its earlier decision on the girls.
“Honestly, these girls are damn lucky. In other jurisdictions, they would have been flogged publicly. What nonsense!! You joke with insulting the President & making it public? Ah! Ah! Ah! I guess we must thank President Akufo-Addo for having a kind heart to forgive them. Thanks Prez,” Anyidoho tweeted.
President Akufo-Addo intervened in the matter after his ‘attention was drawn’ to the move by the Ghana Education Service to sack the students.
The move by the president has been welcomed by the Education Ministry which has instructed the GES to review its decision.
The GES has consequently announced that it will work with the authorities of the school to find an alternative punishment for the implicated students.
Outspoken businessman and economist, Dr Kofi Amoah, has criticised ministers who have announced their resignations from the Akufo-Addo administration.
Dr Amoah in a series of tweets said the decision of those ministers smacks of selfishness, especially because they are leaving at a time the country’s economy is in a nadir state.
His comments come following the recent resignations of Trades and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen and Agric Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto.
The two have resigned to focus on their presidential ambitions as the NPP race to elect a new flagbearer ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Kofi Amoah is of the firm belief that people who have no sense of duty and are comfortable leaving when things are going wrong to pursue their personal glory are either traitors or opportunists who should not be trusted.
“A Captain exchanging a damaged sinking ship for an imaginary unbuilt ship is a traitor and an opportunist, who cannot be trusted. Ghana needs captains with selfless determination to stay the course and not those who resign in times of distress. Please watch their actions, not their words.”
A Captain exchanging a damaged sinking ship for an imaginary unbuilt ship is a traitor n an opportunist, who cannot be trusted
Gh needs captains with selfless determination to stay the course n not those who resign in time of distress
Explaining further in an interview with GhanaWeb, Dr Amoah surmises that, “ The resignations of Cabinet Ministers to go pursue their personal ambitions to become president must be analyzed properly for meaning and significance.
The time fit captains to abandon their ships is not when it’s sinking… that’s when their passion and commitment to their passengers are most needed to take them to safety.
Often people already had ambitions to be president before they took up ministerial and cabinet positions… did they use these positions for riches, power and popularity to underwrite their goals for the presidency or they genuinely took the positions to help the affairs of the country.
As they say “The future is unknown but you can manage it a bit by what you do today.”
Ghanaians must begin to be more perceptive in their assessment of how to select leaders so that we can stop getting it wrong most of the time.”
Alan Kyerematen and Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto resign
Minister of Trade and Industry, John Alan Kyerematen earlier this month resigned from the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government. The former diplomat tendered his resignation on January 5, 2023. Alan is one of the frontline candidates expected to contest for the flagbearership of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP). Others include Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Assin Central Member of Parliament (MP) Kennedy Agyapong and former NPP General Secretary, Kwabena Agyepong.
Three days after Alan’s resignation, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister for food and Agriculture also resigned from the Government.
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto was appointed Minister of Food and Agriculture in 2017 and has served in that capacity for six years.
Dr Akoto led the design and implementation of the Government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme – a policy intended to address the declining growth in the country’s agricultural sector.
The PFJ was launched on April 19, 2017, at Goaso in the Ahafo Region and has since become a key instrument in the Government’s efforts to transform the agriculture sector.
In a recent interview with Joynews, Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe questioned Kennedy Agyapong’s suitability and commitment to serve as the NPP’s flagbearer.
He asserts that while individuals like Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia have a reputation for standing up for the party, the Assin Central MP does “I said what! What is Nyaho Tamakloe trying to say? In 2016 alone Kennedy Agypong and Kutin bought almost a hundred pickups. He paid a debt of $3 million for the NPP and that was even in the 90s,” Obiri Boahen said. “Tell me which of the 275 constituencies in Ghana have not felt the impact of Kennedy Agyapong? I am with Bawumia,
I am campaigning for Bawumia but it doesn’t mean I should sit aloof if someone says something about Bawumia’s competitor and I have details about it,” he added. Mr Obiri Boahen noted that contrary to his claims, it is rather Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe who has no track record of commitment to the party. “Recently did Kennedy Agyapong not donate nine thousand bags of rice? Has Nyaho Tamakloe donated even a cup of rice before?” he questioned. Describing Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe as disgraced, the former deputy communications director said Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe has no basis to issue such criticism since he is no longer a member of the NPP. “On what basis? Nyaho Tamakloe just like Wereko Brobbey has been dismissed. If Kennedy Agyapong is contesting he needs the vote of NPP persons so where do you come in? “Some journalists keep referring to him as a founding member. At what point in time? If he is, we have dismissed him from NPP so please they should stop that,” he stated. The NPP later this year is expected to elect a flagbearer. Already,
Kennedy Agyapong, former NPP General Secretary Kwabena Agyapong and former Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko have all announced their intent to contest as the party’s flagbearer. Last week two ministers in the current government resigned ahead of the NPP’s flagbearer elections. Former Trade and Industry Minister, John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen announced his intent to contest after resigning while former Minister for Agriculture, Dr Afriyie Akoto is yet to make an official announcement after resigning. However, Vice President Bawumia who is yet to officially announce his bid is deemed one of the lead contenders in the race to elect a flagbearer of the NPP.
The platform brings together Heads of State, Ministers and energy decision-makers among its membership and states-in-accession, as well as, multilateral organizations, global stakeholders and private sector players.
Ghana will use this opportunity to seek strategic private-sector partnership pursuant to efforts at scaling up the penetration of renewable energy in its generation mix by 2030.
Ghana’s energy security in the overarching context of fully optimizing energy resources at its disposal remains the top most priority of Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh and therefore using every opportunity, locally and internationally to deepen the frontiers of these efforts.
The three-day programme is on the theme: “Positioning the African Market for Sustainable Economic Development through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
Mr Wamkele Mene, Secretary General AfCFTA, would deliver the keynote address for this year’s Programme, which is under the auspices of the School of Continuing and Distance Education (SCDE), College of Education, University of Ghana. Dr Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto, Director, 74th ANYSC/ Senior Lecturer, Department of Distance Education, SCDE, University of Ghana, who disclosed in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, said the Programme would consist of the Main School and Conference, and a Youth School.
“We are expecting about 400 participants for the main School and Conference from civil society, government agencies, private sector, informal sector, academia and people from all walks of life,” Dr Aheto said.
“For the Youth School, we will be expecting a minimum of 350 participants from around the country.”
Touching on expected outcomes of the Programme, Dr Aheto said one of the major outcomes of the Annual New Year School and Conference was the release of a communiqué at the end of the event.
He said the previous communiqués had shaped policies and provoked discussions of the themes within the public space. He reiterated that adequate opportunities would be created to ensure non-partisan discourse on the theme and widely disseminate policy briefs both locally and internationally.
He noted that this year’s Programme would contribute to the continent’s quest in advancing trade and industry to build a robust African economy that could sustainably contribute to growth in member countries He said the Annual New Year School and Conference had existed over the last 74 years; adding that “in the course of the year, we shall be cutting sod for the Annual New Year School and Conference Multipurpose Digital Youth Village Complex on campus, a hub for youth training and development in Ghana and on the continent.”
“Again, this year’s ANYSC coincides with the 75th Anniversary celebration of the premier University of Ghana, the institution that is affectionately called, Legon.”
Dr Aheto told the GNA that the 74th ANYSC was creating a platform for every Ghanaian, and every African to have a better understanding and involvement of the whole concept of the AfCFTA, an intra-continental trade space to promote. Since its inception in 1948, the Annual New Year School and Conference has been the flagship programme of the University and attracts people from all walks of life to deliberate on topical issues of national and international interests. It opens at the beginning of every new year.
At the end of every school and conference, a communiqué is issued, which captures the recommendations of participants and discussants. The recommendations usually inform policy decisions and directions in the country.
The move, which prompted a 4% fall in Tesla’s shares in pre-market trading, came after CEO Elon Musk warned that the prospect of recession and higher interest rates meant it could lower prices to sustain volume growth at the expense of profit. Shares are down 65% since the start of 2022.
The lower pricing across Tesla’s major markets marks a reversal from the strategy the automaker had pursued through much of 2021 and 2022 when orders for new vehicles exceeded supply. Musk acknowledged last year that prices had become “embarrassingly high” and could hurt demand.
The US price cuts, announced late Thursday on its global top-sellers the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover SUV, were between 6% and 20%, Reuters calculations showed.
The basic version of its Model Y now costs $52,990, down from $65,990 previously.
That is before an up to $7,500 federal tax credit that took effect for many electric vehicle models at the start of January.
Tesla also cut prices for its Model X luxury crossover SUV and Model S sedan in the United States.
In Germany, it cut prices on the Model 3 and the Model Y by between about 1% and almost 17% depending on the configuration. It also cut prices in Austria, Switzerland and France.
For a US buyer of the long-range Model Y, the new Tesla price combined with the US subsidy amounts to a discount of 31%. In addition, the Tesla move broadened the vehicles in its line-up eligible for the Biden administration tax credit.
Before the price cut, the five-seat version of the Model Y had been ineligible for that credit, a designation Musk called “messed up”. After the price cut, the long-range version of the Model Y will qualify.
The cuts may make EV cars affordable to people who may have been previously priced out of the market.
In France, customers buying the Model 3 for €44,990 ($48,773) will now get a further price reduction through a government subsidy of €5,000. The threshold for the EV subsidy is €47,000.
“This should really boost 2023 (Tesla) volumes,” Gary Black, a Tesla investor who has remained bullish on the company and its prospects through the recent, sharp share price decline, said in a tweet. “It’s the right move.”
Still shares in US pre-market trading were lower, as investors worried the move might erode margins, particularly as competition intensifies.
“Tesla is an outlier because it’s still got eye watering valuations when it comes to the number of cars that it actually sells. But ultimately there are all the other providers that sell a hell of a lot more cars overall,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
Some users on Tesla fan forums online also complained the price cuts disadvantaged those who had recently bought their vehicle, leaving them with a lower second-hand value.
“Just reducing 10,000 euros like that – definitely makes you feel that you just paid far too much,” one user wrote on a ‘Tesla Drivers and Friends’ forum.
In China, where Tesla cut prices last week by 6% to 13.5%, owners protested at delivery centres, calling for compensation.
Before the cuts, Tesla inventory in the United States, as tracked by models its website shows as immediately available, had been trending higher. Prices on used Tesla models had also been dropping, increasing pressure to adjust new-car prices.
For 2021, the United States and China combined had accounted for about 75% of Tesla sales, although it has been growing sales in Europe, where its Berlin plant has been ramping up output.
Tesla cut prices in China and other Asian markets last week in its first major move since appointing its lead executive for China and Asia, Tom Zhu, to oversee U.S. output and sales.
Analysts had said the Chinese price cuts would boost demand and increase pressure on its rivals there, including BYD (BYDDF), to follow suit in what could become a price war in the largest single market for electric vehicles.
Tesla’s Model 3 was the best-selling electric vehicle in Germany last month, followed by the Model Y, beating Volkswagen’s all-electric ID.4. Volkswagen recently raised the price of its entry-level ID.3, putting it at parity with the now-discounted Model 3.
Tesla missed Wall Street estimates for fourth quarter deliveries. Full year growth in deliveries was 40% – also short of Musk’s own forecast of 50%.
The fifth edition of the list, according to Martin Ayisi, the commission’s chief executive officer, was released at a time when investments and mineral revenue receipts totaled $10 billion, which he revealed to the Daily Graphic yesterday.
while mining companies produced about four million ounces of gold at a value of about $7 billion last year and were on course to deliver same this year, investments to expand mines and start new ones reached about $4 billion.
Mr Ayisi said since mining companies spent three times more on goods (inputs) and services than what they paid in taxes and royalties, the increase in the items on the list would boost the local economy through local content and participation in the mining industry.
He explained that the 50 items on the list were items that the commission’s research had established were the most regularly procured by the mines over the years.
While they had been mostly imported in the past, he said, local companies had built capacity and expertise to be able to deliver or supply them, hence the passage of the Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2431), which came into force on December 22, 2020 to help support local companies to secure contracts in the mining industry.
For instance, contract mining, service operation, as well as the supply of fuel to the mines, were all reserved for local companies, while others, such as underground mining services, had percentages that should be given to Ghanaian companies, he said.
He said while Ghanaian companies grew capacity in the area, the percentage of work or contracts they should execute would also be increased.
Mr Ayisi explained that the more mining companies invested in their operations, the more inputs and services they would procure, and that would stimulate local participation and growth, especially as the merchandise exports were bigger than the taxes and royalties the companies paid to the state.
Background
The implementation of the new procurement list of 50 items, effective January 1, this year, replaces the fourth edition the commission published early last year.
Its purpose, among other things, is to promote job creation using local expertise, goods and services in the mining industry and their retention in the country.
The law is also to achieve the minimum in-country spend for goods and services and create mining and mineral related industries that will sustain economic development.
Pursuant to Regulation 7 of L.I. 2431, the commission is required to publish a local procurement list, which stipulates the goods and services with Ghanaian content which are to be procured in the country, while Regulation 7(3) of L.I. 2431 further enjoins the commission to review the procurement list annually.
Receipts, investments in mines
Throwing light on investments in the mining sector, Mr Ayisi cited four new projects, with investment of about $1.7 billion.
“The new projects are the $850 million Ahafo North gold mine project by Newmont Ghana Gold Limited; the $500 million gold project currently under construction by Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited in the Talensi District in the Upper East Region; the $200 million gold mine to be constructed in the Upper West Region and the $125 million lithium project at Ewoyaa in the Central Region,” he said.
He added that some mines were undertaking expansion and redevelopment.
The CEO further explained that the Ahafo South mine of Newmont had been expanded to include the Subika underground, while Golden Star Wassa was spending about $1 billion to expand the Wassa underground mine.
The mines being redeveloped were the AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, where $1 billion had been expended, and Mensin Gold Ghana Limited’s Bibiani Mine, which started production in the last quarter of last year, he said.
“It is the expectation of the Minerals Commission that these investments will support the growth of the economy and boost local participation under the new procurement list,” Mr Ayisi said.
Furthermore, the market value of new bonds can potentially be higher than the value of the Old Bonds. Accordingly, to permit individual investors to benefit from these potential advantages of the new bonds and to address their concerns, the government has amended the Invitation to Exchange to allow individual legal holders of record of Eligible Bonds to participate in the exchange.
Question. What if I only hold a small amount of eligible bonds?
Ans: Offers to exchange any of the Eligible Bonds may be submitted in a minimum principal amount of GH¢1.00 and integral multiples of GH¢1.00 in excess thereof, in order to allow every holder to participate to the exchange, given the expected higher value of the new bonds compared to the old bonds after the exchange. Any new bonds to be issued to any eligible holder in the invitation to exchange will be in a minimum principal amount of GH¢1.00 and integral multiples of GH¢1.00 thereof.
Question. How can an individual legal holder of record of Eligible Bonds participate in the amended Invitation to Exchange?
Ans: Individual investors, as all Eligible Holders which are not Central Security Deposit (CSD) direct participants can participate in the Invitation to
Exchange by sending an exchange instruction to their respective CSD Direct Participant (the Depositary Participant), in the form and via the channels agreed between them. In particular, they can use any of the following avenues to participate in the Invitation to Exchange:
• Send an Offer or Exchange Instruction to the CSD Direct Participant (the Depositary Participant) via email (within the email cover),
OR
• Send an Offer or Exchange Instruction to the CSD Direct Participant (the Depositary Participant) via an internal communication platform they use (if any), OR Download an Exchange Form from the website of the CSD (www.csd.com.gh/dde), also included as Appendix 3 in the Exchange Memorandum, complete and send it to the CSD Direct Participant (the Depositary Participant) via email or via any internal communication platform they use (if any), OR
• Obtain a hardcopy version of the Exchange Form from such holder’s bank, broker or custodian (the CSD Direct Participant/ the Depositary Participant), complete it and send it back to the CSD Direct Participant (the Depository Participant) via email, via any internal communication platform, or physically to the CSD Direct Participant’s branch. CSD Direct Participants are required to make copies of the Exchange Forms at all their branches nationwide, OR
• Send an instruction in the format, or via any other standard mean of communication available, accepted by the CSD Direct Participant (the Depositary Participant).
Question. Why are the holders of the 2023 bonds receiving an additional fee?
Ans: The 2023 eligible bonds represent one third of the total bonds eligible to participate in the exchange. As such, a large number of Eligible Holders hold 2023 bonds and would therefore benefit from this fee.
• In addition, the 2023 eligible bonds were scheduled to mature during this year, similarly to T-bills which are excluded from the exchange. Given that the holders of these bonds are being asked to extend the maturities of what are now effectively short- term instruments, the Government believes it is fair to grant them an additional fee to compensate for the maturity extension.
Question. What is happening with the Pension Funds?
Ans: Negotiations on the specific terms of an agreement with the pension funds are continuing and will be made public once an agreement on the details is reached.
Question. Why has the coupon rate structure of the new bonds changed after 2025?
Ans: The amended coupon structure for the new bonds has been designed to ensure a pricing that is closer to the face value for all new bonds on the secondary markets once the yield curve would have recovered a standard shape, thus addressing a concern raised by certain banks.
Question. Why are there 12 new bonds in the amended exchange instead of 4 new bonds in the initial exchange?
Ans: There was a tradeoff between fewer and larger bonds (the previous structure) with more liquidity bond or more numerous bonds with bullet structures and lower amounts. Eligible Holders indicated a preference for the latter which has been reflected in the amended exchange.
Question. What is the treatment of accrued interest in the amended exchange?
Ans: Eligible Holders indicated that they had already accounted for the receipt of accrued interest on the Old Bonds in their 2022 financial accounts and the tendering of the Old Bonds would require adjusted accounting treatment.
In order to address these concerns, the Government has decided to proceed with paying accrued interest up to 24 January 2023 to all Eligible Holders participating in the Invitation to Exchange, in a capitalized form.
Question. What happens if I do not participate in the domestic debt exchange?
Ans: The government invites each eligible holder to voluntarily tender their holdings. The success of this operation is critical to restoring macro-economic stability. The government is confident that all Ghanaians concerned will fully contribute to the collective efforts required to resolve the current crisis and put the economy back on a solid footing. Where the participation to the domestic debt exchange too low, the perennity of the Government’s efforts to resolve the current crisis and the expected international financial support would be jeopardised, thus putting amendment to further strains on the Government’s capacity to honor its commitments and repay its debt non-participating eligible holders will keep holding their old bonds, but at a deteriorated value. Indeed, the market value of new bonds is expected to be higher than the value of the Old Bonds for several reasons:
• Secondary market liquidity for Old Bonds will be limited, hence affecting market prices.
• On the contrary, the regulators have adopted a series of measure aiming to enhance the liquidity of the new bonds and supporting their market prices (access to repurchase window, access to the newly set up Financial Stability Fund, 0-risk weighting of the new bonds compared to 100% risk-weighting forthe Old Bonds).
According to a press release from the ORC dated November 14, 2022, the increase is in accordance with the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2022 Act 1080, which was passed by Parliament.
“From the 1st of June, 2023, the ORC would, for the very first time be fully implementing section 126(7) of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992)”, the statement said.
Read full statement below
PRESS RELEASE CHANGE IN FEES AND CHARGES
The Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) informs all Company Officials, Business Owners and the general public that there have been changes in the Fees and Charges on all transactions, including the Incorporation and Registration of Businesses, Amendments and the filing of Annual Returns effective 1st January, 2023. This is in accordance with the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2022 Act 1080 as passed by Parliament and earlier indicated in our Press Release dated 14th November, 2022.
The changes in Fees and Charges would apply to the registration and amendment of Business Names, Subsidiary Business Names, Partnerships, External Companies, Professional Bodies as well as the Incorporation of Companies Limited/ Unlimited by Shares and Companies Limited by Guarantee. Please visit www.orc.gov.gh/www.rgd.gov.gh or our Front Offices in Accra and The Regional Offices for further details on these new Fees.
From the 1st of June, 2023, the ORC would, for the very first time be fully implementing section 126(7) of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) which states that ‘where a Company defaults in complying with the filing of Annual Returns and Financial Statements, the Company and every officer of the company that is in default is liable to pay to the Registrar an Administrative Penalty of Twenty-Five penalty units for each day during which the default continues’.
A penalty unit is established by the Fines (Penalty Units) Act 2000 (Act 572) and the current monetary value per penalty unit is GHC12.00. This means that effective 1st June, 2023, an administrative charge of GHc300.00 would be charged for each day the default continues against the Company and EVERY OFFICER of the Company until section 126 (7) is complied with.
The full implementation of the Companies Act, 2019 Act 992 by this section is being proposed now by Management and the Board to ensure Companies take the compliance of this requirement in the Act more seriously than they have done previously. Company Secretaries and Auditors should therefore kickstart the processes in getting these mandatory documents ready and on time to avoid paying this very punitive Administrative Penalty and sanction and push their Companies into a state of inactivity.
The ORC from June 2023 is also going to fully enforce the penalty for failure to comply with the statutory provision on Annual Renewal of Partnerships registration.
The Incorporated Private Partnerships Act,1962 (Act 152) section 8 (1) states that: ‘‘Once in every year, the Partners of a Partnership SHALL deliver to the Registrar for registration a Statement in the Prescribed Form renewing the registration. Section 9(1), in the event of default in complying with sections 4,5,7 or 8 of Act 152, (a) Every Partner SHALL be liable to a fine not exceeding five (5) pounds for each day during which the default continues; The cost of five (5) British Pounds in Ghana Cedis per the current Bank of Ghana Foreign Exchange rate is Ghc60.00.
Partnerships, especially Auditing Firms on the Register, are to note accordingly and put their Books in order to renew the Partnership Registration and avoid paying this punitive penalty.
Additionally, the ORC is going to enforce section 5A (2) of the Registration of Business Names Act, 1962 (Act 151) on Annual Renewals. This states that “without prejudice to any other liability prescribed by this Act, a registration which is not renewed in accordance with this section shall LAPSE and the Registrar may remove from the Register the Business Name of the person whose Registration has lapsed after the expiration of the period prescribed for the renewal”.
From this year, failure to renew a Business Name (Sole Proprietorship)/Subsidiary Business Name for a period of 3 months after the year has ended would lead to the Lapse of the Business Name/Subsidiary Business Name. To avoid such Business Names falling into the public domain and for anyone of interest to use it after it has been struck off the Business Names Register, Business Name owners can electronically renew their Businesses by dialing the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Code *222# and follow the prompt to make payment with their Mobile Money wallet on the Ghana.Gov payment platform.
The ORC would also be introducing expedited/express services this year. This is to ensure that patrons of the services get their documents within forty-eight (48) hours. The expedited/express services would be available at the Head Office in Accra and some Regional Offices when it commences after the first half of this year.
All Company Secretaries who are yet to comply with the directives issued by the ORC on the Name Changes in the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) are to submit a Special Resolution for a change of their Company Name by adding the appropriate ‘suffix’ to the end of their Company Name. Companies who have not as yet adopted a Registered Constitution reflecting the changed name in place of their Company’s Regulations are also being reminded to do so by the end of June, 2023.
The ORC wishes to remind its cherished clients that payments on transactions are ONLY to be made at its in-house Fidelity Bank or any other Fidelity Bank Branch. The Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) does not operate a Mobile Money Account or authorize same on its behalf. Under no circumstance should ORC clients transfer money to any Mobile Money Number in the name of the Office, Staff or a Lawyer. Please be vigilant against fraudsters calling Company officials and Business Owners to make transfers to certain mobile numbers. We urge the General Public to ignore such calls or messages and cross check its validity with us through our official numbers.
He claims that Alan Kyerematen is a successful businessman who recognises the value of creating jobs in his industry.
He listed Alan Kyerematen’s accomplishments under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the creation of One District One Factory, the Ghana Automotive Development Center, and the presidential special initiative.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points programme on Saturday, January 14, 2023, the former lawmaker said, “Alan is the man for jobs.”
“He is a businessman who understands business and creating jobs. Who doesn’t remember the Presidential Special Initiative (PSI), he makes it happen, automobile, 1D1F, he makes it happen,” he stated.
On January 5, 2023, Alan Kyerematen resigned as the Minister of Trade and Industry.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor as the caretaker minister of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Verify that the operating system on your computer or other device is running the most recent version.
The Ghana Internet Safety Foundation, headed by its Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Adinkrah9 practical recommendations for online safety, has provided some top helpful recommendations for remaining secure online and avoiding hackers, among other cyber criminals, as we approach the first days of the New Year 2023.
Here are some tips for staying safe with technology:
Do not distribute your naked photos.
Don’t share any nude images with your spouse if you’re not certain that you can trust them.
The Internet is forever and there are real-life consequences for the things you share online.
Even on Snapchat, where photos disappear in 24 hours, there is no guarantee someone won’t screenshot your pic or take a picture using someone else’s phone.
Shop more securely
Using a credit card to buy goods online is safer than using a debit card. This is because any fraudulent transaction made using your debit card sees money withdrawn from your bank account but most credit cards come with fraud protection.
Make sure the shop site is secure
If you’re shopping online, you can protect yourself further by only shopping on sites with HTTPS as a URL prefix and a padlock icon to the left or the right of the URL. The ‘S’ in HTTPS stands for ‘Secure’. This signifies that communications between your browser and the website concerned are encrypted.
Update your operating system
Make sure your machine is running the latest version of your operating system and install system updates immediately. Updating your operating system ensures your machine has the latest software to protect itself.
Update your anti-virus software
An out-of-date virus checker is only marginally better than none at all. Hundreds of thousands of new variants of malicious software appear each year in addition to new strains, so the set of malware your virus checker knew about when you first installed it can get out of date very quickly.
Use complex passwords for each account
A recent article by NordPass reported that ‘password’ and variations of ‘123456789’ still rank among the most commonly used. Using capital letters, lower-case letters, numbers and special characters – such as an asterix or a question mark – make passwords much harder for hackers to crack.
Use a password manager
You probably have more accounts than you can remember; so, consider using a reputable password manager such as LastPass. Then use two-factor authentication – such as Google’s 2-Step Verification – to protect your online accounts.
Watch out for Flash
Adobe Flash, a tool used to create online games and animations, is one of the most common ways PCs get infected with malware. Think about disabling it. Adobe isn’t recommending the use of Flash anymore because of security concerns. Check your system.
He said this at the Ghana Bar conference in Accra.
While delivering his speech, President Akufo-Addo said, “in recent times, we have been witnessing significant difficulties in the management of the national economy, largely as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, which has been exacerbated by the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
Read the full story originally published on September 13, 2022 by www.ghanaweb.com.
He said though the economy has in recent times been fraught with several challenges, he is optimistic the challenges will soon come to an end.
Speaking at the Ghana Bar conference in Accra on Monday, September 12, 2022, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said, “in recent times, we have been witnessing significant difficulties in the management of the national economy, largely as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, which has been exacerbated by the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
“The basic commitment to resolving these challenges, within the framework of due process and democratic institutions, must remain unshaken. And, I am confident that, God-willing, we will overcome these challenges,” he stated.
On July 1, 2022, government decided to engage the International Monetary Fund for a financial bailout amidst the economic challenges.
Subsequently, a team from the IMF arrived in the country from July 6 to July 13, 2022, to engage Ghanaian authorities for a possible economic support programme
The IMF programme, government said is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and safeguarding debt sustainability among many others.
Meanwhile, Ghana is targeting an amount of $3 billion over three years from the IMF once an agreement on a programme is reached.
The new amount requested as a loan is double the government’s initial target of $1.5 billion.
The president claims that the agreement will help the economy recover and strengthen the nation’s public finances while also helping to “rebuild both the confidence of foreigners in our economy and our own self-confidence in the manner in which economy may develop.”
During a meeting at the Jubilee House with some Harvard University students from the United States, the president stated, “We are going through that process with them (the IMF) right now, as we speak, and hopefully by the end of this month or at the very least by the middle of February, a full-blown IMF agreement will be put in place.”
The government of Ghana at the latter part of 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with officials of the IMF for a $3 billion loan facility.
According to the president, the government is committed to achieving the requirements of the staff-level agreement in order to attain an agreement by the IMF board.
“We will succeed in implementing the various considerations of the staff-level agreement that will enable us to have a full IMF agreement,” the president is quoted in a report by Myjoyonline.com as having said.
The government of Ghana announced a Debt Exchange Programme after its staff-level agreement with the IMF.
However, there have been concerns about the success of the IMF agreement as the Debt Exchange Programme has received widespread rejection by government bondholders.
“Anybody who’s been contacted by your bank, write, back to your bank saying you will not accept it. Anybody who has his money in any of the funds, whether it is the data bank, M fund, or a balance fund, etc do not accept it. It does not augur well for your good or that sort of economy, you are under no compulsion to accept it,” Convener of the Individual Bondholder’s Forum, Senyo Hosi recently said in the media.
The Debt Exchange Programme forms a part of the requirements on the government for an IMF board approval.
The government of Ghana is hoping to receive the loan to salvage the country’s severely challenged economy.
The Fair Wages Commission gave the hint after government reached an agreement with labour for a 30% increase in base pay of public sector workers for 2023.
“I’m not too sure they can be able to do it, let me be very frontal that way. They are not ready for it, and saying it and not doing it creates more problems. So the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations shouldn’t have said it. All they have to do is to work at it. I appreciate the dynamics of it because the law enjoins us to do as a nation and as people who occupy these offices. If they do it, I will clap for them from here to my hometown, but I wonder if they can do it, particularly 2023,” he said.
“There’s nothing, there’s no structure in place for them to do it. So to talk about matching productivity with pay, they don’t have the structure in place. They have not trained anybody. All the Head of Departments know very little about it, and how are they going to do it. It is doable if you are ready for it. I can tell you I believe in it and I have been speaking about it for many years. Even private companies they cannot even do it, how much more government,” the labour expert added.
“So we can learn from best practices. What surprises me most is that the Jamaican example has been touted as the best because of the engagements it went through before the final decision was made,” he said according to myjoyonline.com reports According to him, if the current resistance to the programme continues, it may not be beneficial to the government in its quest to seek aid from the International Monetary Fund. “Ghana had an option to learn from best practices where proper engagement was done but today in Ghana’s case, we are complaining of lack of engagement. “So I think the time has come for us to call on the Finance Minister to immediately suspend Debt Exchange Programme and engage further. I think Ghana will need a proper stakeholder engagement on this matter,” Ato Forson remarked. Meanwhile, the individual bondholders have petitioned the president to ensure their exclusion from the programme. According to them, no consultation was made with them before the government announced their inclusion in the programme on December 24, 2022.
