According to Freddie Blay, a former national chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party, the only time he will withdraw from representing the four accomplices on trial alongside the embattled galamsey “kingpin,” Aisha Huang, is if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo requests it.
He said it will be a difficult decision to make, but that it is the only one that will compel him to redesign his legal firm’s representation of the conspirators.
In previous interviews, the former deputy speaker of parliament has firmly maintained that the prosecution of the four (three Chinese and a Vietnamese person) is an error and that they are innocent.
In his view, his “clients are good people and are not involved in illegal mining.”
Freddie Blay insisted that, as a lawyer, he has every right to defend persons who have been accused falsely, arguing that he has done no wrong in mounting a defense for his clients because he has sworn an oath to defend them.
“I will not be happy if he (the President) asks me to do so but I will painfully ask my law firm to abandon its defense for them. But I am sure if I give him the facts as it pertains, he will not ask of me to do so. But if he insists, out of respect and out of reverence for him, I will consider that seriously,” he said.
Freddie Blay’s response was to a question the host of Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV’s morning show, Kwesi Parker-Wilson, monitored by GhanaWeb, asked him in relation to the case of his clients.
The former Member of Parliament for the Elembelle constituency further said that the Attorney General, Godfred Dame, hasn’t been allowed to listen to his clients yet, which is unfortunate.
“The AG is not seized with the full facts and he may have been misled, so until the trial begins, we will know whether my clients are involved in galamsey,” he added.
He also cautioned against the indiscriminate arrest of Chinese foreign nationals all in the name of galamsey.
He also disclosed that there have been some members of his party, the NPP, who have cautioned him against proceeding with the case, but he has refused to, arguing that he is only doing his job as a lawyer.
“A couple of my party members are not happy with me and they have called me and have asked me to stay away from the case but as a lawyer, I have sworn an oath to defend accused persons so I must hold on to it,” he explained.
TT Caternor, a member of the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC’s) communication team, has recommended the government to step up its efforts to combat illegal mining by implementing technical advancements to keep an eye on mining equipment and concessions.
He is recommending the employment of trackers to keep an eye on the operation of excavators, which he called essential industrial equipment.
Speaking with Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Adwenekasa on Accra-based Original FM 91.9, he said, “Just put a tracking device on the excavator, and so when it is registered, you will track it. Any time it is moving, you will be told where they are. Immediately you see that a lot of them are converging around Dunkwa, for instance, it should trigger something, like a probe, as to what those excavators are doing in Dunkwa.”
Excavators are one of the main pieces of equipment used by illegal miners in their operation, which leaves devastating effects on Ghana’s land and water resources.
He said that Akufo-Addo had given the economy to Databank, a private finance company co-founded by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, during a panel debate on TV3 last week.
He named four people associated with the group in his explanation of the overall impact Databank officials had on the economy, saying how their deliberate placement in various economic sectors showed a “capture” of the industry.
He cited Ofori Atta himself as Finance Minister, his Databank co-founder Keli Gadzekpo, a one-time board chairman of the Bank of Ghana now board chair of the Electricity Company of Ghana; Rev. Daniel Obgarmey Tetteh, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC and Yoofi Grant of the Ghana Investment Promotions Center, GIPC – all of whom are linked to Databank.
“They are meddling with the finances of this country… so if you take this sector and just give it out to Databank, President, something is wrong. If no one is telling you, you should know, you should see it.
“If these men pushed us into a ditch, they are incapable of pulling us out because their legs are wobbly,” he stressed.
In his view, the fact that the economy has been suffering distress and for the President to keep the Finance Minister who plunged the country into that mess, shows that he is insensitive to the plight of the citizenry.
With respect to the economic downturn, he submitted: “The major problem we have in this country is President Akufo-Addo, who thinks that the mindset that took us into this problem is capable of lifting us out of the problem.”
Analysts and politicians alike have been calling for government to take pragmatic steps to deal with the current economic downturn.
Rising cost of living, galloping inflation and a rapidly depreciating Ghana Cedi are some of the main pointers to the economic crisis that Ghanaians are putting up with.
The government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for a reported US$3 billion rescue facility to help stabilize the economy and reset it on the path of growth.
Government has partly blamed the Russia-Ukraine war and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the headwinds, insisting that all was being done to stem the tide.
It is located in the prime area of the 16th Arrondissement of Paris.
The Paris Mission has a unique address, located in the famous Villa Saïd.
The villa is named after Mohamed Sa’id Pasha, a former Prime Minister of Egypt.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, congratulated President Akufo-Addo on the prestigious award of Doctor Honoris Causa conferred on him by the reputable Sorbonne University.
“Mr President, your service and sacrifices to the nation and humanity will always be recognised and your example should spur us all on to do more for God and country,” she said.
She thanked the President for his commitment and support ensuring that the Paris Mission was well-housed and in the best of conditions.
“You insisted that we included Paris in the list of Ghana’s Diplomatic Missions to benefit from the Société Générale Bank credit facility acquired to purchase, construct, reconstruct and/or renovate Ghana Missions abroad,” Madam Ayorkor Botchwey stated.
The Minister also congratulated Madam Anna Bossman, Ghana’s Ambassador to France, for her spirit of importunity and determination that had seen the successful completion of the project.
Madam Ayorkor Botchweysaid the President was right that the Paris Mission was significant and touched all aspects of diplomacy – bilateral, multilateral and economic diplomacy – in all its forms and expressions in the prosecution of Ghana’s foreign policy agenda.
She said France was one of the first countries with, which Ghana established diplomatic relations immediately following its independence in 1957.
“Our long-standing relations with France have since grown and blossomed into fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation, in many aspects of our national development to the mutual benefit of our peoples,” the Minister said.
“To the Ghanaian community, this is your home.”
She said the renovation meant the Government of Ghana was sending a strong message of the importance it attached to the interests of its citizens, which was the priority of diplomacy.
The Minister said the beautifully fitted consular section should complement the high-quality services it would provide for the public’s satisfaction.
She urged the public to enjoy the facility and cooperate with the officers, who were ever ready to assist them in all that they needed; saying: “Let us keep the flag of Ghana high. “
The Minister expressed gratitude to the staff of the Paris Mission for their dedication and hard work.
“Our success requires that we meet the high expectations of our citizens and others who demand our services. Let us go over and above the call of duty, for the sake of our country,” she said.
Patrick Nyarko has been chosen by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Finance and Administration (PHDC).
Mr. Nyarko is a seasoned expert in energy and financial services, with knowledge of managing balance sheets, financial analysis, credit analysis, insurance, analysis of energy policy, and sustainability strategy.
He held the position of first Director for Environment, Health, and Safety at the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation before to his most recent assignment (GIISDEC).
He holds a BSc in Management with Computing from Regent University College, Ghana, an MBA in Oil and Gas Management from Coventry University in the UK and an MSc in Strategy and International Business from Aston University in Birmingham, also in the UK.
He said the Government’s investment in the free SHS would deepen access and quality of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and ensure that all children acquired literacy and numeracy skills at grade 4, with opportunity for out-of-school children to access basic education.
The policy will also provide Ghanaian youth with 21st-century skills to boost their global competitiveness, increase access to tertiary education in all regions, improve learning outcomes at all levels, and increase access to teacher trainee education.
Mr Maafo was speaking at this year’s National Education Week celebration on the theme: “Re-assessing Educational Policies for Effective Service Delivery and National Transformation”.
He said the Government since January 2017, had contributed significantly to the growth and development of human capital in the country through huge investments in education.
“The government has spent on average between 4.5 per cent to 4.6 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product and between 17.6 per cent to 24 per cent of its national budget on education between 2019-202.
” The share of government expenditure on education increased marginally from 73.4 per cent in 2019 to 74.0 per cent in 2020,” he said.
He said free SHS education was one of the key programmes for which advocates have argued for its abolition to save the country billions of Ghana cedis that could be invested in better productive areas.
“I reject as false the argument that our economy cannot support these programmes. The challenges we are witnessing in our economy are short-term and we cannot afford to sacrifice our common vision due to short-term economic pressures.
“I must say that the debate should not be whether our public expenditure is too high or too low. The debate should be and must be whether or not these programmes contribute to the welfare of Ghanaians and are essential for our national transformation,” he said.
He stated that the free SHS had promoted access to secondary education and that enrolment at the SHS had increased from less than 900,000 students in the 2016/17 academic year to more than 1.2 million in 2020/21.
The Gross Enrolment Rate at SHS has reached 95 per cent in 2020/21 up from 50 per cent in the pre-free SHS year, 2016/17.
The transition rate from Junior High School three to SHS one has improved over the medium term from 78.2 per cent in 2017/18 to more than 85 per cent in 2020/21.
Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the Deputy Minister of Education, said the celebration sought to review the sector’s performance over the past medium-term, review the implementation of policies and key programmes in the sector and deliberate on how the sector could use evidence-based policies and programmes to improve learning outcomes and management of education.
The Ministry, he said, would showcase some initiatives undertaken through an exhibition and give participants the opportunity to interact with officers of the Ministry and Agencies on the initiatives.
Mr Abdourahamane Diallo, UNESCO Country Director to Ghana, commended the Government for putting in place interventions such as the National Standardised Test and the prioritisation of STEM education.
He called on the authorities to collectively work to address challenges in the educational sector to ensure holistic learning outcomes.
Her social media post, Tuesday, had scanty words but the actress who was once a member of the Fix The Country movement has had her comment trigger reactions from other tweeps.
The showbiz personality was among the people who were arrested on June 25, 2022, by the police for demonstrating in front of Law Court complex in Accra as the court was hearing the case as regards whether the ‘non-partisan and non-political civic movement by Ghanaian youths for Ghana’ should be allowed to stage a street protest or not.
The group was “demanding a new society founded on justice” while highlighting economic problems and government management. After a successful demonstration which saw many clad in red and black while holding placards, the narrative, according to some Ghanaians, remains unchanged.
Some aggrieved citizens have been expressing fury over economic hardship, hoping for the economy to be rescued.
In the midst of that, Ghana was recently ranked 1st by the World Bank with highest food price increases of 122% in Sub-Saharan Africa. This led to Prince David Osei issuing a threat to mobilise the youth and protest against the government, stressing that Ghanaians deserved better.
Meanwhile, the cedi continues to depreciate. Some forex bureaus in parts of Accra are selling a dollar at an average of GH¢11.2, raising concerns.
Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has clarified the NDC’s decision to boycott the 2019 by-election for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.
After individuals thought to be National Security operatives allegedly injured numerous voters who were at polling places to exercise their right to vote, the NDC made the decision to withdraw from the by-election.
According to Mr. Ampofo, “for the first time state security agencies with police cars, wearing police uniforms, and assault rifles were attacking regular civilians who are coming to vote” in an interview with Citizen Kofi Owusu, the host of the Adekyee Mu Nsem Morning Show on Ahotor 92.3 FM.
While attempting to paint a picture of the gory scenes of the day, the NDC Chairman said, “people were injured and admitted to the hospital, people with broken legs. In the candidate’s house, it looked like a war zone with blood on the ground.”
Narrating the series of engagements and incidents that followed the brutality that was meted on the voters, the National Chairman said both the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Asiedu Nketia, and former President John Dramani Mahama were widely consulted.
“When we assessed the situation, we were like we should give ourselves time to see how things will go. There was a man who didn’t get the reason why he should leave his home to go and vote,” Mr Ampofo said.
He said security experts were marshalled to assess the situation and advice on the way forward for the party.
“I never just got up to say that we were pulling out completely,” he continued adding that the candidates also decided against going to their polling station to cast their ballot based on the security situation at the time.
“President Mahama was busy, so I called him and explained everything to him. I consulted him, and he said that if that was going to save lives, we should take a decision,” Mr Ampofo said.
“There was a major consultation before that decision was taken,” he added, further explaining that though the General Secretary of the party was out of the country at the time, Mr Asiedu Nketia was still consulted to advise on the necessary steps that ought to be taken.
“I have never regretted my decision,” he stated categorically, arguing that “if people are saying I’m weak, then so be it, but it was not a weak decision because as a result of that decision, the whole world’s attention was brought to Ghana.
Mr Ampofo claimed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was forced by the international community to take action. “They were forced to set up a commission of inquiry, and he didn’t use the report for anything. He quickly passed a law to outlaw vigilantism and other related offences, and it attracted world attention,” he said.
Based on what the NDC has experienced in the past, the National Chairman said the party was “doing those things that are necessary to ensure that this does not occur in 2024.”
“There are a number of urgent actions we are taking to ensure that the use of military and police brutalities on election day will be outlawed through our parliament and through laws, and through advocacy with other key international and national civil society organizations and diplomats,” maintained.
It was rather a ‘grief-stricken’ moment when tears consistently rolled down the cheeks of the late Highlife musician, Nana Kwame Ampadu’s wife, who was captured at the funeral grounds of her late husband.
All efforts by some women to console her proved futile as she cried profusely, as her tribute to her late husband was being read.
The manner in which the late musician’s wife wept got so infectious that even one of her ‘consolers’ ended up wailing as well.
Not forgetting the fact that the words in her written tribute sunk the audience into a more sorrowful state.
In attendance at the ceremony were President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin; the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei Opare; ministers of state; Members of Parliament; a former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings; the clergy, some veteran actors, musicians, chiefs and several other dignitaries.
The late Nana Ampadu was finally laid to rest on Saturday October 9, 2022, in his hometown, Obo Kwahu, in the Eastern Region.
Speaking on Joy News’ NewsFile programme monitored by GhanaWeb on Saturday (October 10), Dr. Tamakole warned that if a state of emergency is not declared soon, ‘galamsey’ will lead to the collapse of Ghana.
“Where we have reached with this thing, I believe it is time a decision is taken. And if a decision is not taken, this poor country called Ghana will faint. Because at the moment, the country is bleeding profusely.
“I will say if we really want to solve this problem, the state in which we are now is a state that we need what we call a declaration of a state of emergency, immediately. This must be put on military footing, and I can assure you, this will completely end this crisis,” he said.
Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe said that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo currently seems not to know what he is doing.
“It appears the president, at the moment, does not know exactly where he is going. It is so sad. I say it is so sad because I have backed him all my lifetime in politics, so I don’t see why he can’t take such an easy decision. The president I know who could say no and his no was his no, now cannot take decisions,” he noted.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has refuted suggestions that his government is not committed to the fight against illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’).
According to Akufo-Addo, his government has been committed to the fight against the menace since his first day in office and its determination to curb it even cost his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), some votes in the 2020 General Elections.
The president, who made these remarks at a meeting with the National House of Chiefs and some Municipal Metropolitan and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Kumasi, intimated that the votes he and his party lost showed that he really put his presidency on the line to fight ‘galamsey’.
“Since I took office on January 7th, 2017, nearly six years ago, I have made it a central feature of my presidency to lead in the fight to rid our country of this menace, which we all now call galamsey. Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address that day. It has not been easy; it has not been popular and we have not gotten the immediate results that I was looking for.
“Indeed, in the last election of 2020, my stance on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities. It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bumbazed nor reckless. It was the simple truth,” he said.
Ghana and Ukraine have signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU) to deepen cooperation in trade and the training of diplomatic staff.
Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, signed for Ghana, while Mr Dmytro Kuleba, the visiting Ukrainian Foreign Minister, signed for his country.
Mr Kuleba is in Ghana to deliver a special message from the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Accompanying him is a business delegation, who would hold meetings with their Ghanaian counterparts and key government institutions, including the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.
Prior to signing the MoU, the two ministers held discussions on issues of common interest, aimed at strengthening the bilateral relations between Ghana and Ukraine, and the need for deepening of economic ties in the areas of trade, security and education.
The discussions also focused on Ghana’s active participation in deliberations on peace and security at the ECOWAS and the African Union, including efforts to resolve regional conflicts on the continent.
Madam Ayorkor Botchwey noted that the bilateral relations between the two nations dated back to August 1992, which had been strong on the political front and emphasised the need to strengthen trade and economic ties.
She recalled the visit to Ghana 4th April 2018 by the first ever Ukrainian Trade Mission, led by Mrs Nataliia Mykolska, a former Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Trade, which aimed at enhancing trade and economic relations.
She reiterated the need for a stronger collaboration in oil and gas, petrochemicals, and security.
Madam Botchwey underscored the role of state institutions in Ghana like Investment Promotion Centre, the Free Zones Authority, the Export Promotion Authority, and the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in promoting trade and investment.
She expressed the readiness of those institutions to collaborate with their Ukrainian counterparts to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through the conducive business environment in Ghana.
She called for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which was impacting negatively on the economies of many countries across the globe, including Ghana.
Mr Kuleba, on his part, commended Ghana for supporting the Ukrainian people during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the two countries were completely aligned on all major issues of international importance.
He said the statement: “Every bullet and every bomb fired at Ukraine is felt in Africa,” made by President Akufo-Addo at the UN General Assembly, was the clearest and the most eloquent statement, which reflected the global repercussions of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
“We have to stop this war, we will by winning it, because we defend the right cause, the principle of sovereignty, the principle of territorial integrity of the nation”.
Mr Kuleba said Ukraine would soon be opening a full diplomatic mission in Accra.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a member of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, has reiterated his stands that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would be judged by posterity if he fails to win the fight against illegal small-scale mining, known popularly as galamsey.
Gabby was reminded of an earlier post he made in the early days of the war against galamsey on April 6, 2017.
In the said post, the founder of Danquah Institute, DI, wrote “Posterity shall not forgive Akufo-Addo and our generation if we don’t win the war against galamsey.”
In commenting on it, he indicated that, he still stands by those views because the import of the post in 2017 remains valid in 2022.
“I remember this tweet very well and the import of my post remains valid today as it was yesterday and for our President, our leaders and our society. Posterity will surely judge as [sic] meanly and legitimately so if we do not protect for future generations what was bequeathed to us,” Gabby tweeted on Thursday, October 6, 2022, with a screenshot of his 2017 tweet.
It appears that Ghana is losing the fight against galamsey with videos and pictures of water bodies in the country having been polluted with the colour of the water turning milky brown.
President Akufo-Addo at a meeting with chiefs in the Ashanti region on Wednesday, October 5, admitted that the fight against galamsey has not been an easy one and vowed to deal with persons within his government who may be found complicit in illegal mining activities.
The President said the government has for several years been struggling with the fight against ‘galamsey’, hence government officials cannot continue to compromise efforts against the menace.
“I am not here to threaten anybody, but I want you to know that this is a struggle that I take very seriously, and I will not be in a position to protect anybody against whose evidence is messed up about their complicity in this matter…I am a lawyer and I always deal with facts and when the facts are brought against you, you will be invited to comment on them.
“If the response is not satisfactory, you can guess to yourself what the consequences will be,” the President said.
He also admitted that Ghana’s fight against illegal mining has so far not been successful.
“Since I took office on 7th January 2017, nearly 6 years ago, I have made it the central feature of my presidency to lead in the efforts to rid our country of this menace which we all now call ‘galamsey’.
“Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address of that day. It has not been easy, it has not been popular, but we have not got the immediate result that I was looking for,” President Akufo-Addo said.
As part of the government’s 1-District-1-Factory plan, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo officially opened the GH6.2 million shoe manufacturing business Shoe Fabriek Ltd.
The project’s proponents said that by placing the factory in the Akuapem North District, it would give locals work and lessen the flow of people from rural to urban areas.
According to reports, Shoe Fabriek has given the neighborhood 144 new jobs as of the president’s commissioning of the factory.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, commissioned ‘Shoe Fabriek Ltd.’, the GH¢6.2 million shoe manufacturing company operating under Government’s 1-District-1-Factory initiative.
The state-of-the-art factory is fitted with the requisite infrastructure and equipment capable of producing 800 pairs of high-quality shoes, including security boots, school shoes, and casual shoes for men, women, and children, per day.
According to the promoters of the project, the siting of the factory in the Akuapem North District is going to create jobs for the residents, which will help reduce rural-urban migration.
Shoe Fabriek has, so far, created jobs for one hundred and forty-four (144) people in the district, and is a classic example of the import substitution programme being implemented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as part of the 1D1F Initiative.
President Akufo-Addo congratulated the promoters of the factory, Michael Asare Bediako, Opoku Benson, and Salomey Gyamfi, for supporting the industrial transformation agenda of his administration.
Whilst encouraging Ghanaians institutions, such as schools, to patronize made-in-Ghana shoes from this factory, the President expressed gratitude to the traditional authorities and the residents of the community for their unflinching support to the company and advised the workers to put in their best to ensure sustained growth of the company.
As of September 2021, 278 1D1F projects are at various stages of implementation under the 1D1F Initiative. Out of this number, 104 are currently in operation, 150 are under construction, and 24 are at the mobilization stage.
One hundred and sixty-five (165) out of the 278 are new projects representing 60% whilst 113 companies are existing projects being supported, representing 40%.
In promoting the 1D1F initiative, the Akufo-Addo Government is seeking to address the youth unemployment challenge, by attracting private sector investments into the development activities of these communities.
The time for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to extend a hand of cooperation to stakeholders across the spectrum to “rescue” the economy from further decline is now, the Minority in Parliament has stated.
In the view of the caucus, Ghana has the requisite personnel to turn the economic situation around if the government opened up for alternative views.
Their call comes on the heels of a World Bank report which pegged Ghana’s Debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 104.6 per cent, further impairing the economy.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Minority said if the government had listened to the opposition parliamentary wing when it was cautioned against the excessive borrowing the regime engaged in.
“If they had listened to the Minority from 2017, certainly, we wouldn’t have been where we are today. Today, Ghana has become a laughing stock in the world.
“This mismanagement and incompetence is legendary and must be stopped and I think that the president must call on all of us to come onboard as citizens of this country to secure our future.
“We have the people who can do it. There are excellent people in academia and in civil society and in the other political parties.
“There is the need for us to come together to rescue our country because it is very clear that this government cannot steer us out of this economic meltdown,” Dr CassielAtoBaahForson, the Minority Spokesperson on Finance said.
The caucus, Dr Forson, MP for Ejumako/Enyan/Essiam said was vindicated by its long held view that government is guilty of subterfuge in relation to Ghana’s debt.
The Minority in the past has maintained that the US$2 billion sinohydro deal was a loan contrary to government’s position that it was a barter trade between the Chinese company for them to extract bauxite worth the amount.
This position which the government denied, Dr Forson said has come to light.
“They have hidden ESLA, they have hidden Sinohydro, they have hidden Daakye, and in fact, they have added debt through Road Fund and they are all public debt.
“Since 2017, we have been raising this concern that [the sinohydro and other loans calculated below the line] are public debts but this government thought they are wiser than all of us. Today, their master, the IMF, is in town.”
All the above debts, Dr Forson said, have eventually been added to the public debt which has pushed the country’s debt to over 100 per cent of GDP.
“Over the years, they have been deceiving stakeholders, you and I, creating the impression that our debt is sustainable. Today it is obvious that due to this government’s reckless management of the economy and the way they have piled the fiscals in an unsustainable manner, our debt is 104 per cent of our GDP,” Dr Forson said.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has lauded the Ghanaian Muslim community for its decision to come together and advance the cause of the members and society in general.
The development, he said, was worth emulating by the other religious bodies, especially the resolve of the various sects (Al-Sunna, Tijaniyya, Shia, Ahmadiyya and the Ghana Muslim Mission) to bury their differences and establish a common front to spearhead the welfare of the people.
“It will make for unity, harmony and the peace of our country,” President Nana Akufo-Addo noted, when the leadership of the National Muslim Conference paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House, Accra.
The delegation was led by the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osmanu Nuhu Sharabutu, who chairs the Conference.
The conference’s terms of reference include providing a common platform for the Muslim community to deliberate on issues of common interests, particularly in the area of education, health, finance and the general wellbeing of the people.
It is mandated to serve as a mouthpiece to engage the government and other bodies on matters relating to the community’s advancement and represent Muslims in the process of formulating and implementing national policies.
The Conference is expected to work towards the establishment of the Ghana Islamic Education Service, Ghana Islamic Health Service and Ghana Islamic Financial Service – all intended to cater for the needs of the people.
President Nana Akufo-Addo welcomed the unity of purpose existing among Muslims, saying the government acknowledged the critical role they played in achieving the nation’s development aspirations.
On the issue of the state giving formal recognition to the conference, the President assured: “The demand for recognition will be positive,”
“The recognition, courtesies and protocols that are extended to the other religious bodies will also be extended to the National Muslim Conference,” he stated.
President Nana Akufo-Addo singled out for praise, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osmanu Nuhu Sharabutu, for his exemplary leadership and commitment to the cause of humanity.
“He has been a pillar of harmony of peace and reconciliation of our country,” he observed, citing the significant role the National Chief Imam had played over the years in uniting the Muslim community.
The nation, he said, was blessed to have such a man who continued to demonstrate a high sense of selflessness and patriotism in the development aspirations of the nation.
President Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that his Administration valued the contributions of Muslims to society’s progress, therefore, the authorities were determined to sustain the existing relationship between the government and that community for the benefit of the people.
The setting up of the Zongo Development Fund and other human-centred programmes, he said, were all geared towards making life comfortable for the Muslim community.
Alhaji Inusah Mohammed, Acting General-Secretary of the conference, said the body had representatives of all the various Muslim sects in the country.
According to him, their focus was to present a common front in deliberating on national policies and legislations that affected the people’s welfare.
Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, the Ameer of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission and Member of the Conference’s Governing Board, said the coming into being of the Conference was timely given the fact that Muslims had since the pre-colonial era been instrumental in changing the society for the better.
In the fight against galamsey, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reaffirmed his commitment to collaborating with chiefs, traditional leaders, and other stakeholders.
President Akufo-Addo asserted: “It is apparent that you and I must take the initiative and work closely together to do so if we are to win the struggle.
I am present today for that reason.
On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the president addressed the National House of Chiefs. He stated that chiefs continue to be in charge of eighty percent (80%) of Ghana’s territory, while the remaining twenty percent (20%) is held in trust by the president.
What this means, he said, is that ultimately the welfare and state of the land is a joint responsibility of chiefs and the president – although, by statute, minerals in the soil belong to the president in trust for the people.
“Historically, we discharged that responsibility well. Even though for centuries we have been a mining nation, mining did not pose a threat to the health of our environment and water-bodies. The rules that you put in place for mining ensured that the sanctity of our lands remained intact and our water-bodies remained unpolluted. Tragically, in the modern era that is no longer the case. And that is why I have come to you today to talk about how, together, we can repair this dramatic situation,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo indicated that since he took office on 7th January 2017, he has made it a central feature of his presidency to lead the efforts to rid the country of the galamsey menace, with a firm commitment made in his inaugural speech on the matter.
“It has not been easy, it has not been popular, and we have not got the immediate results that I was looking for. Indeed, in the last elections of 2020 my stance on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities. It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bombast nor recklessness. It was the simple truth,” he said.
The president continued: “We have tried many initiatives, including that of the Community Mining Scheme and establishing a new legal regime for dealing with the perpetrators of this phenomenon – which has imposed severe sanctions on those Ghanaians and foreigners convicted of illegal mining. Still, we have not won the fight”.
“It can only succeed if it is a truly national battle that no one seeks to exploit for political gain, as we saw in the last election. The progress of our country depends on all of us, all citizens of Ghana, all Fellow Ghanaians, pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future,” he added.
Reiterating the stance of government, President Akufo-Addo noted that: “We are not against mining, but we cannot accept mining in a manner that risks destroying our country. Our nation has always been a mining nation. Indeed, in the 15th century when the first Europeans, the Portuguese, came to our shores they called the first European-influenced town Elmina – meaning ‘the mine’ in Portuguese – because from their ships as they approached our shores that is the activity they saw our people engaged in. It is not surprising that in colonial times we were called the Gold Coast”.
He thus asked all Ghanaians to join hands with him in the fight against illegal mining, in order to bring an end to devastation of the Ghanaian landscape and pollution of our water-bodies.
“We have to win the fight to keep our environment clean and protect our heritage for our descendants, as you did in the past,” he added.
In the fight against galamsey, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reaffirmed his commitment to collaborating with chiefs, traditional leaders, and other stakeholders.
President Akufo-Addo asserted: “It is apparent that you and I must take the initiative and work closely together to do so if we are to win the struggle.
I am present today for that reason.
On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the president addressed the National House of Chiefs. He stated that chiefs continue to be in charge of eighty percent (80%) of Ghana’s territory, while the remaining twenty percent (20%) is held in trust by the president.
What this means, he said, is that ultimately the welfare and state of the land is a joint responsibility of chiefs and the president – although, by statute, minerals in the soil belong to the president in trust for the people.
“Historically, we discharged that responsibility well. Even though for centuries we have been a mining nation, mining did not pose a threat to the health of our environment and water-bodies.
“The rules that you put in place for mining ensured that the sanctity of our lands remained intact and our water-bodies remained unpolluted. Tragically, in the modern era that is no longer the case. And that is why I have come to you today to talk about how, together, we can repair this dramatic situation,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo indicated that since he took office on 7th January 2017, he has made it a central feature of his presidency to lead the efforts to rid the country of the galamsey menace, with a firm commitment made in his inaugural speech on the matter.
“It has not been easy, it has not been popular, and we have not got the immediate results that I was looking for. Indeed, in the last elections of 2020 my stance on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities.
“It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bombast nor recklessness. It was the simple truth,” he said.
The president continued: “We have tried many initiatives, including that of the Community Mining Scheme and establishing a new legal regime for dealing with the perpetrators of this phenomenon – which has imposed severe sanctions on those Ghanaians and foreigners convicted of illegal mining. Still, we have not won the fight”.
In seeking further assistance from the National House of Chiefs in addressing the galamsey phenomenon, he noted that taking partisan political interests out of the fight against galamsey is one way forward.
“It can only succeed if it is a truly national battle that no one seeks to exploit for political gain, as we saw in the last election. The progress of our country depends on all of us, all citizens of Ghana, all Fellow Ghanaians, pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future,” he added.
Reiterating the stance of government, President Akufo-Addo noted that: “We are not against mining, but we cannot accept mining in a manner that risks destroying our country. Our nation has always been a mining nation.
Indeed, in the 15th century when the first Europeans, the Portuguese, came to our shores they called the first European-influenced town Elmina – meaning ‘the mine’ in Portuguese – because from their ships as they approached our shores that is the activity they saw our people engaged in. It is not surprising that in colonial times we were called the Gold Coast”.
He thus asked all Ghanaians to join hands with him in the fight against illegal mining, in order to bring an end to devastation of the Ghanaian landscape and pollution of our water-bodies.
“We have to win the fight to keep our environment clean and protect our heritage for our descendants, as you did in the past,” he added.
A lecturer at the University of Ghana‘s School of Business, Dr. Kobby Mensah, has lamented President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s statement linking the fight against illegal small-scale mining, galamsey, and winning the 2024 elections.
He is concerned that more pressing socio-economic, environmental and generational considerations have failed to make the list of why the fight against the scourge must be won.
In a tweet posted on October 5, 2022; hours after Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had met with the National House of Chiefs and selected Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), Dr. Mensah wondered why the fixation on elections.
“So NPP will only fight Galamsay becos [because] will make them win elections Ei! Where are the values – securing the future of generations unborn? Sustaining the earth’s resources? Protecting the livelihoods – human and animals etc. None of these important to president but elections,” his post read.
President Akufo-Addo in his address admonished MMDCEs, in particular, to put in their best effort to ensure that the government wins the fight against galamsey.
The president stressed that they had to put in their best effort because winning the war against ‘galamsey’ will ensure that the New Patriotic Party, NPP, wins power for an unprecedented third successive term under the Fourth Republic.
“Let us work together to get rid of this one. And I believe that if the people of Ghana see a determined effort on our part which is yielding results. Our water bodies are clearing, our landscape is being reclaimed, our forest zones are being preserved, it will help them enable us to do what? Break the Eight,” the president told the MMDCEs.
During the first part of the meeting, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refuted suggestions that his government is not committed to the fight against galamsey.
According to Akufo-Addo, his government has been committed to the fight against the menace since his first day in office and its determination to curb it even cost the NPP some votes in the 2020 General Elections.
The president intimated that the votes he and his party lost showed that he really put his presidency on the line to fight galamsey.
“Since I took office on January 7th, 2017, nearly six years ago, I have made it a central feature of my presidency to lead in the fight to rid our country of this menace, which we all now call galamsey.
“Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address that day. It has not been easy; it has not been popular and we have not gotten the immediate results that I was looking for.
“Indeed, in the last election of 2020, my stance on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities. It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bumbazed nor reckless. It was the simple truth,” he said.
According to the Coalition for Cocoa Sector Reforms (CCSR-Gh), Ghanaian cocoa farmers are prepared to work with the government to put an end to the threat posed by illicit small-scale mining (Galamsey).
The association stated in a statement, “On galamsey, farmers are ready to assist government in fighting it if only their petition is taken into consideration.
If their request is granted, farmers won’t be duped by galamseyers’ cash offers, and if we all work together, we can prevent the final collapse of the cocoa sector.
“The Forestry Commission must also look at the remuneration for forest guards and technical officers. Their conditions of service is very poor. They work with minimum safety boots, protective clothing and ammunitions. Let’s give better remuneration and honour to these agricultural sector workers and safe the industry now or we forfeit it.
“We also call for the arrest and prosecution of galamseyers operating in the Tano-Numri forest and officials of the minerals commission who gave mining license to Akonta Mining with expiration in 2035 against the minerals and mining of natural resource act of Ghana. Long live Cocoa farmers, long live Ghana.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be meeting Municipal and District Chief Executives and also National House of Chiefs at Manhyia in Kumasi today, Wednesday October 5, over issues surrounding galamsey.
This comes at a time concerns have been raised by stakeholders regarding the impact of galamsey on water bodies and the environment in general.
Ahead of the meeting, Deputy Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Mr Ernest Owusu-Bempah appealed to all Ghanaians to support the President to deal with this situation.
He said the President is committed to fighting the menace.
“We the NPP will support the president to deal with this menace,” portions of his statement said on Tuesday October.
Pressure group, OccupyGhana has also asked the government to declare a state of emergency over this issue.
A statement by the group said “Considering the gravity of the situation, we fully expect Parliament to agree with the government and provide that the state of emergency should remain for such period as Parliament may determine so that the government can get a grasp of the situation.”
In a blistering social media rant, Ghanaian musician Shatta Wale has warned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that he is surrounded by government appointees who are failing to tell him the truth about the current situation of the country.
Shatta Wale further opined that these individuals are only greedy for money and by their very bad counsel, will tarnish the envisioned legacy the President desires to leave behind at the end of his tenure.
Born Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr, the musician made these assertions in a Facebook video.
“Mr President, don’t let some stupid people take decisions for you in this country,” he said in the selfie video as he drove.
“You’re worrying the youth of Ghana, I’m telling you,” he noted.
“All your ministers, all your people that you have put in office, they are worrying you, they are giving you a bad name,” Shatta Wale declared.
The self-acclaimed African dancehall king brought up the controversial national cathedral.
“Mr President, if you want to go to heaven, you are building a cathedral,” Shatta, as he is simply called, seemed frustrated.
“So please, I’m telling you this thing, the [bad] decisions you are making are getting too much,” he added.
“People are taking decisions and they are not telling you the truth of what is happening on the street. The street is hot. Mr President, the street is hot,” he commented on the economic situation in Ghana.
At this point, similar to other parts of the video, the Shatta Movement (SM) leader appeared to be complaining about being snubbed by 2022 Global Citizens Festival organising team because, according to him some local partners sabotaged and badmouthed him.
“So if small entertainment too, they are coming to do wayo [discriminate and cheat] there, Mr President I’m telling you the country is not going well,” he bemoaned.
“People want to just come and follow you and make money and just go and your legacy won’t be the legacy that you’ve dreamt of. I beg you,” the ‘On God’ hitmaker stressed before addressing prevailing comparisons between former President John Mahama and the incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo.
“It was right here in Ghana that people said Mahama was not performing well,” he said.
“Mahama is gone and since you’ve been in power, they are saying you’re not doing anything impressive at all,” he noted.
“Mr President, stay focused. You see what Ghanaians are saying, that’s what I am telling you. They say you are not working hard,” Shatta Wale continued.
Repeatedly, he barked: “People are angry, people are not happy, people are complaining,” and added: “The streets are not happy. I’m telling you people something. They say you are even fumbling something as easy as organising entertainment events.”
In order to provide local youth and other Ghanaians with jobs, he claimed that the state-owned Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) was committed to developing the bauxite mine.
“It is time to mine the bauxite here, and plans for us to mine the bauxite are far advanced for the people of Kyebi and Ghanaians, in general, to have work that will produce cash for them,” he added.
He said the state-owned Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) is determined to develop the bauxite mine to create employment for the youth in the area and other Ghanaians as well.
“It is time to mine the bauxite here and plans are far advanced for us to mine the bauxite so that the people of Kyebi and Ghanaians, in general, would have employment which would generate income for them,” he emphasized.
The President was speaking at a durbar organized for him by the leaders of the Akyem states at Kyebi during the second day of his three-day tour in the Eastern Region.
Chiefs and people from the three Akyem states including Abuakwa, Kotoku and Bosome as well as the Okuapemanhene, Oseadeayo Ohene Kwasi Akuffo III, ministers of state and members of parliament were present to grace the occasion.
President Akufo-Addo hoped that the mining of the bauxite would change the local economy of the host communities and the nation at large. He said, “Government is committed to creating jobs and ensuring that people have enough money in their pockets.”
Speaking on government projects, he said in the Eastern Region about 1,481 projects were initiated with 768 completed and 730 projects ongoing. “In the Akyem area, we have initiated 560 projects, 345 have been completed and 215 projects are ongoing.”
President Akufo-Addo said before he assumed power in 2016, he pledged to deliver his best to Ghanaians and asked them to assess his performance for the past years and vote massively for him and the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South Constituency, Mr Samuel Atta Kyea to continue his work.
The Minister for Works and Housing and Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Mr Samuel Atta-Kyea said the integrated aluminum industry project to be initiated in parts of the Atewa forest would result in the construction of several housing projects for the workforce and improve the local economy.
He added a-100 million euros had been made available by the Hungarian government for the housing project.
The Okyehene, Osaagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin called on Ghanaians to give the president the nod to go for a second term, considering the number of developmental projects and initiatives proposed and completed by government.
The Okuapemhene, Nana Kwasi Akuffo III said as chiefs they would support the government in power to bring development in the country and hence would support the President’s efforts considering that he is a son to the stool, to bring development to the country.
The President later commissioned one storey 14-unit classroom block GETFUND project at Bepong and inspected ongoing Kwahu-Asakraka town roads at Mpraeso and Abetifi respectively.
He also commissioned Kwahu-Tafo town roads and commissioned a three-storey 18-unit dormitory block at Nkwatia SHS and met chiefs and people of Kwahu to solicit their votes.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been urged by the pressure group OccupyGhana to swiftly proclaim a State of Emergency in all mining regions of the nation.
According to a statement released by the Group on Monday, this was the only way the President and his administration could organize the nation’s mining operations and triumph over illegal mining, also known locally as “galamsey,”
“We…, request that you take immediate steps towards declaring a State of Emergency in every mining area in Ghana.
“By article 31(1) of the Constitution, these steps will be, first, seeking and obtaining the advice of the Council of State and, second, publishing a proclamation of the declaration in the Gazette,” the statement said.
It also asked Parliament to be recalled from vacation to pass the state of emergency.
“Considering the gravity of the situation, we fully expect Parliament to agree with the government and provide that the state of emergency should remain for such period as Parliament may determine so that the government can get a grasp of the situation,” it said.
The rumors should be ignored, the ministry claims, since the minister is working to fulfill his duties as the finance minister.
“The ministry wants to reassure the populace that these rumors are untrue.
Part of the statement issued on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 said, “Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta is at post and focused on his mission, granted to him by His Excellency the President, to serve the people of Ghana in his capacity as Finance Minister.
• Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is still at post
• According to a press release from the ministry, the minister is working assiduously in his given position
• This comes on the back of recent rumours that suggest he has resigned
A press release signed by its public relations unit indicates that its attention has been drawn to some rumors circulating on social media. The rumours, per the release, suggest that the minister has resigned from his position.
“The ministry wishes to assure the general public that there is no truth in these rumours. Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta is at post and focused on his mandate, given to him by His Excellency the President, to serve the people of Ghana in his capacity as Finance Minister,” part of the statement released on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 read.
The ministry further urged the general populace to disregard the rumours.
Ken Ofori-Atta, earlier this year was flown to the United States of America for treatment after contracting COVID-19.
He however returned shortly after to be vetted in parliament and to continue his duties as substantive finance minister under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s second term in government.
Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, has suggested that no administration can lay ‘exclusive credit’ for the EUROJET hospital projects.
Taking to his Facebook page on the matter, the veteran journalist said the project was initiated under former President John Agyekum Kufuor who secured the funding in 2008.
He reiterated that various administrations post the Kufuor era have at each point in time played a role to ensure the project sees the light of day.
This, he noted, was corroborated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo when he commissioned the Upper West Regional Hospital, one of the nine Eurojet hospital projects, in 2019.
He stated that he has once again come out with the facts of the matter as a result of the “needless and unwarranted” controversy by members of the political divide who want to be exclusively credited for it.
“In spite of the abundance of material of evidential value underscoring the genesis and trajectory of the Project under reference, it appears there’s still some controversy relative to who did what, when, where and how to actualise and sustain the evolution of the Project to date.
“Honestly, but for the tendency of “political elements” across the political divide, who are prone to claim “exclusive credit” relative to this and other projects, methinks the controversy is needless and unwarranted. However, in an environment of competitive partisan politics, it is virtually impossible to impose an “injunction” on this “sub-culture”. Hence my decision to set the records straight via “The 4 Cs methodology”; (Conceptualization, Construction, Completion and Commissioning).
“Indeed, evidence of this “methodology” was best articulated by President Akufo-Addo when he commissioned one of the Nine Eurojet Hospitals; the Upper West Regional Hospital(Wa) on 18th. August, 2019.
“Hear him: ” This project has passed through the hands of four successive Presidents of Ghana. It was initiated and begun under the 2nd. President of the 4th. Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor; it was continued by His Excellency John Evans Atta Mills; and his successor; His Excellency John Dramani Mahama; and it has been commissioned by me; the 5th. President of the 4th. Republic. This is a good statement about our country, of our institutions and of our governance”.
“As I indicated elsewhere recently, and two years ago, the above presidential observation tells the factual and truthful story relative to “the 4 Cs” of the EUROJET HOSPITALS PROJECT(s),” Kweku Baako wrote on his page.
In 2020, the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper had the opportunity to clarify issues concerning the project.
He took on the current opposition National Democratic Congress who were claiming ‘ownership’ of the project in their famous Green Book.
Kweku Baako said the funds for the project was secured by Kufour but he could not see to the initiation and completion as the New Patriotic Party were voted out of office.
He indicated that the Mills-Mahama administration which took over gave its consent to the continuation of the project which had already gained Parliamentary approval.
Akufo-Addo’s role in Euroget
The New Crusading Guide Editor-in-Chief then pointed out that it took President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to secure funds for the continuity of the projects; listing their various stages of completion currently.
“The Wa 160-bed Upper West Regional hospital has been completed 100 percent and handed over. The 100-bed Ga East Municipal hospital has also been completed 100% and handed over. The 60-bed district hospital, Tepa, is 80%; anticipated completion date is August 2020,” he emphasized adding that the 60-bed district hospital for Konongo and Salaga district hospitals will be completed in December 2020 and February 2021 respectively,” Kweku Baako said in 2020
About the Eurojet hospital project
Euroget De-Invest, an Egyptian company, was contracted by the Government of Ghana in 2008 to put up nine hospitals, including a Military hospital in Kumasi, Ashanti Region.
Sources indicate that under the provision of the contract, the entire project should have been completed within three years of commencement at the cost of $519 million.
The projects included the construction of a 160-bed Regional hospital at Wa in the Upper West, a 60-bed district hospital for Salaga in the Northern Region, a 60-bed district hospital at Tepa in the Ashanti Region, a 60-bed district hospital for Nsawkaw in Brong-Ahafo Region and a 500-bed Military hospital in Kumasi.
There was also to be a 60-bed district hospital for Konongo and a 250-bed hospital in the Ashanti Region and the rest are a 100-bed district hospital for Madina and a 60-bed hospital for the Twifo-Praso District in the Greater Accra and Central Regions.
All these are in the name of the Ministry of Health.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta, according to Prince Kofi Amoabeng, the founder of the now-defunct UT Bank, have failed to manage the economy effectively.
He claimed that because he was the one who appointed the Finance Minister, Mr. Akufo-Addo must accept responsibility for his failure.
“So yes [the Finance Minister] has failed, there is no too waste about,”
When his attention was drawn to the fact that the President has expressed confidence in his appointees including Mr Ofori-Atta, Mr Amoabeng whose bank went under during the banking sector cleanup exercise undertaken by the Bank of Ghana, said “the president has failed first, so if you ask me, it is the president who has failed, everything starts with leadership, he appoints everyone and so if you appoint wrong people you must take responsibility for it. You can delegate authority not responsibility.”
President Akufo-Addo recently gave an indication that he was satisfied with the work of his appointees.
Mr Akufo-Addo said these when asked for his views on calls to reshuffle his ministers while speaking on North Star Radio in Tamale as part of his two-day tour of the Northern Region on Monday August 8.
“Many of them for me have done outstanding work,” he said.
“Their output has been considerable, and that is what I look at,” he added.
The president further indicated that “If the output measures expectations, then I don’t have any strong reasons to heed the call.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the now-defunct UT Bank, Mr. Prince Kofi Amoabeng, has claimed that the government is not doing enough to lessen the effects of the problems brought on by external forces.
He said that even while the government cannot control outside forces, it must take action to address domestic problems not brought on by external forces.
He remarked, “You must do all you can locally, for the external reasons you cant do much, what are you doing locally to limit the effect? ” on the Business Focus with Paa Kwesi Asare on TV3 on Monday, October 3.
Nothing is being done.
The administration hasn’t publicly stated that it will be cracking down on specific issues.
He further said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta have failed in managing the economy well.
He said Mr Akufo-Addo must take responsibility for the failure of the Finance Minister because he is the appointor.
Speaking on the Business Focus with Paa Kwesi Asare on TV3 Monday October 3, he said “of course if you fail with the planning and management of the Finances of the country you have failed.
“So yes [the Finance Minister] has failed, there is no too waste about,”
When his attention was drawn to the fact that the President has expressed confidence in his appointees including Mr Ofori-Atta, Mr Amoabeng whose bank went under during the banking sector cleanup exercise undertaken by the Bank of Ghana, said “the president has failed first, so if you ask me, it is the president who has failed, everything starts with leadership, he appoints everyone and so if you appoint wrong people you must take responsibility for it. You can delegate authority not responsibility.”
This comes after President Akufo-Addo paid a working visit to the Ashanti region to inspect and acquaint himself with the latest developments of the ongoing project.
The president was informed that the airport project which is currently 77 percent complete has 88 percent of its terminal building complete, the road network 93 percent complete, the Apron 89 percent complete, with the air traffic control and rescue and firefighting services 53 percent complete.
“The scope of work includes the extension of existing runway pavement from 1,981 metres to 2,320 metres, the construction of a new taxi link and apron, two new apron parking stands, aeronautical ground lighting systems.”
“The design and building of a terminal with the capacity to handle 800,000 passengers per annum, an 11 MW substation, as well the provision of new bulk utility (electricity, water, sewage treatment system, internet, etc.) services, independent of the existing utility services for the existing airport facilities,” the president was informed.
Earlier in 2018, when the president cut the sod for the commencement of works for Phase Two of the project, Akufo-Addo said “the expansion of this airport is a critical part of the government’s vision to expand the frontiers of the aviation industry in the country and to realise the dream of making Ghana an aviation hub in West Africa.”
Meanwhile, the third phase of the airport project will entail the construction of the air traffic control building, and a fire building station, as well as the expansion of the existing runway pavement.
The Kumasi International Airport project cost €124.9 million with financing from Santander, Deutche Bank, and UKEF. The project is being constructed by Messrs Contracta Construction UK Limited.
Professor Lord Mawuko-Yevugah, a development and international relations specialist, has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to reduce the perks received by his appointees in light of the nation’s ongoing economic woes.
The president has also been urged by him to eliminate the roles of regional ministers and deputy chief executive officers of state entities.
“Every political appointee should get his own car, accommodation and other privileges. These freebies are not sustainable. If someone chooses to be a politician, he should carry his own burden,” Prof Mawuko-Yevugah said.
Prof. Mawuko-Yevugah made the call in Accra at a lecture on the topic: “COVID-19 Pandemic, Russian-Ukraine War and Ghana’s Economic Crisis,” and monitored by GhanaWeb.
The lecture was organised by Think Progress Ghana (TPG), a policy think tank, and the Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
Prof. Mawuko-Yevugah explained further that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War have been more significant in fragile and emerging economies, exposing the weak foundations of such economies on the one hand, and their vulnerabilities on the other hand.
He added that the Ghanaian economic crisis remains an undeniable thing that has been often stated by many government officials, political and economic actors, scholars, the ordinary Ghanaian and indeed, the country’s international development partners, including the Bretton Woods Institutions – IMF and the World Bank.
“The crisis is manifested in rising inflation, rising budget deficits, ballooning and unsustainable debts levels, precipitous depreciation and fall in the value of the local currency (the cedi) relative to the major foreign currencies,” he said.
Prof. Mawuko-Yevugah also said that managing and surmounting Ghana’s perennial economic crisis requires more than short-term artificial macro-economic fixes.
He said it requires a complete overhaul and restructuring of the economy, making it less dependent on global markets and the benevolence of others.
Prof. Mawuko-Yevugah also advised stakeholders in revenue to check loopholes in revenue mobilisation by closing it, and establish a tough tax collection regime to ensure maximum local revenue mobilisation.
“Expenditure controls are required including a stringent public financial management system and reviewing the public or political incentive system,” he said
He stated that cost-saving measures including removal of perks and other burdens on the public purse would keep expenditures in check, and in saving money to fund development infrastructure.
“Immediate (short-term), as well as long-term measures, are required in dealing with the current and future crisis in the economy,” Prof. Mawuko-Yevugah said.
Professor Anthony Mawuli Sallar, Executive Director, Think Progress Ghana, said the aim of the think-tank policy was to bridge the gap between intellectuals, researchers, politicians and policymakers.
He said TPG relied on the experience and expertise of renowned scholars from diverse disciplinary and professional backgrounds to provide fit-for-purpose solution to challenges in economic, social, cultural, political, and health issues.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo claims that since taking office in 2017, his administration has implemented policies and programs that have helped Ghana develop a vibrant tourism industry.
“We want to use tourism as an effective vehicle for economic development, which will help to create jobs and wealth for the people,” said President Akufo-Addo.
To increase tourist arrivals this year and in the future, the government is spending extensively on key tourist attractions with the help of international partners.
Speaking at the formal opening of the Tema Branch of the Alisa Hotel, on Friday, 30th September 2022, the President indicated that the hospitality sector is the third largest contributor to the country’s GDP, after cocoa and oil and gas, accounting for two (2) out of every ten (10) jobs in the country.
Following the rebounding of the hospitality and tourism sectors, “after Government undertook some bold and decisive measures, which saved lives, livelihoods and businesses, as well as through the global easing of (COVID-19) restrictions”, President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that Government has put in place plans to build a state-of-the-art tourism and hospitality training school in Accra.
“The ten-million-US-dollar (US$10 million) facility will serve West Africa, and provide customer care training to operators in the tourism and hospitality value chain. When customers are happy and delighted, they do not only stay longer in hotels, but also spend more, and likely to return in the future with family and friends. Building the capacity of tourism players is, therefore, important in our quest to be the tourism destination of West Africa,” he said.
The President noted that Government’s focus, over the next eighteen (18) months, is to exploit Ghana’s culture, heritage, history, hospitality and beautiful natural scenery to attract tourists, fun-lovers and leisure seekers hoping to find a unique experience in Africa.
In addition to the abundance of natural resources, he stated that Government has embarked on a product improvement plan, where several tourist sites in the country are currently undergoing site renovations. These include the Aburi Botanical Gardens, the Yaa Asantewaa Memorial Museum and the Kente Museum, both in Kumasi.
“This year alone, it is expected that some twenty-five million United States dollars ($25 million) will be expended to upgrade some of our iconic sites, including the famous Elmina and Cape Coast Castles, the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the Mole and Kakum Parks, and cultural Museums in Yendi in the Northern Region, Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, Akropong in the Eastern Region, and Ho in the Volta Region, under the Ghana Tourism Development Project, supported by the World Bank,” he said.
The President continued, “this Project, in all of a value of forty-million-US-dollars ($40 million), is expected to position the tourism and hospitality sectors as key drivers of social and economic development. Some of the benefits that the project is expected to bring are an enriched access to Ghana’s tourism market, better provision of tourism products and services, and the upgrading of skills in the labour force in the tourism, arts, and culture sectors.”
Nana Ama Mcbrown received her fair share of critique when immediate past CEO of 3Music Networks, Baba Sadiq, and NPP Kpone Katamanso Parliamentary candidate, Hopeson Adorye threw verbal punches at each other during UTV’s United Showbiz program.
The popular actress who doubles as the United Showbiz host wasn’t spared by Mr. Hopeson Adorye who labeled her as ‘biased’ for sitting aloof while Baba Sadiq disrespected him.
Sadiq poked the NPP stalwart while claiming that he has freely offered himself to run the party’s ‘dirty jobs’.
His comments were necessitated by Mr. Adorye’s claim that Baba Sadiq was part of an agenda that saw to the recruitment of some 75 young men from Fadama to heckle President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addoat the Global Citizen concert.
Hopeson Adorye, alleged that Sadiq, together with the likes of NDC’s Alhassan Suhuyini, and Larry Dogbe bused these 75 young men to the venue purposely to hoot at the president.
“Sadiq of 3Music Awards is an industry player and has a connection with the lead organizers, he and Larry Dogbe and Suhuyini met at a particular place to plan. They contracted 75 boys from Fadama and paid each one of them GH¢120. The videos trending is a testament to it. It was from one particular shot,” he stated earlier in an interview with Accra FM.
In a bid to debunk the said claims, an infuriated Baba Sadiq went berserk and threw jabs at the NPP politician.
“Even people in his party are telling me to forget about him and that he isn’t well. You look at a young man who is working very hard and you want to trash him. I am not just an industry player; I am an investor. It is not a free event.
“He thinks it is a free event that people were bused to the venue. You’d have to go online, answer some questions and it will direct you to an IP. The data of every single person that attended the event has been recorded.
“At your level and age, don’t put yourself in a situation where people will have to disrespect you. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Sammy Awuku and Samuel Jinapor came to meet you, why is it that when there is a dirty job it has to be you and not them,” he stated on UTV’s United Showbiz.
But in the heat of the moment, Mr. Adorye called out the host, Nana Ama Mcbrown, for allowing Baba Sadiq speak of him in such manner.
“You made me sit here patiently just to listen to this stupid talk, the lies and disrespect from this young man. How can you condone such?
“I could have equally spewed rubbish but I chose to remain calm and that doesn’t mean I am stupid. I am not happy about how you handled this issue at all. Let me state on record that I don’t like how you handled this,” he remarked in Twi.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo claims that since taking office in 2017, his administration has implemented policies and programs that have helped Ghana develop a vibrant tourism industry.
“We want to use tourism as an effective vehicle for economic development, which will help to create jobs and wealth for the people,” said President Akufo-Addo.
To increase tourist arrivals this year and in the future, the government is spending extensively on key tourist attractions with the help of international partners.
Speaking at the formal opening of the Tema Branch of the Alisa Hotel, on Friday, 30th September 2022, the President indicated that the hospitality sector is the third largest contributor to the country’s GDP, after cocoa and oil and gas, accounting for two (2) out of every ten (10) jobs in the country.
Following the rebounding of the hospitality and tourism sectors, “after government undertook some bold and decisive measures, which saved lives, livelihoods and businesses, as well as through the global easing of (COVID-19) restrictions”, President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that Government has put in place plans to build a state-of-the-art tourism and hospitality training school in Accra.
“The ten-million-US-dollar (US$10 million) facility will serve West Africa, and provide customer care training to operators in the tourism and hospitality value chain. When customers are happy and delighted, they do not only stay longer in hotels, but also spend more, and likely to return in the future with family and friends. Building the capacity of tourism players is, therefore, important in our quest to be the tourism destination of West Africa,” he said.
The President noted that government’s focus, over the next eighteen (18) months, is to exploit Ghana’s culture, heritage, history, hospitality and beautiful natural scenery to attract tourists, fun-lovers and leisure seekers hoping to find a unique experience in Africa.
In addition to the abundance of natural resources, he stated that Government has embarked on a product improvement plan, where several tourist sites in the country are currently undergoing site renovations. These include the Aburi Botanical Gardens, the Yaa Asantewaa Memorial Museum and the Kente Museum, both in Kumasi.
“This year alone, it is expected that some twenty-five million United States dollars ($25 million) will be expended to upgrade some of our iconic sites, including the famous Elmina and Cape Coast Castles, the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the Mole and Kakum Parks, and cultural Museums in Yendi in the Northern Region, Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, Akropong in the Eastern Region, and Ho in the Volta Region, under the Ghana Tourism Development Project, supported by the World Bank,” he said.
The President continued, “this Project, in all of a value of forty-million-US-dollars ($40 million), is expected to position the tourism and hospitality sectors as key drivers of social and economic development. Some of the benefits that the project is expected to bring are an enriched access to Ghana’s tourism market, better provision of tourism products and services, and the upgrading of skills in the labour force in the tourism, arts, and culture sectors.”
The institution would reach its full potential once it became a university, he claimed, adding that discussions with the Mendel University of the Czech Republic had started in order to realize that ambition.
At the college’s 100th Anniversary celebration in Kumasi, the President delivered the announcement to a large durbar of students and other stakeholders.
The anniversary, which was on the theme: “Kwadaso Agricultural College – 100 Years of Agricultural Education in Ghana,” was to celebrate the achievements of the school which has produced about 75,000 professionals since its establishment in 1922.
President Akufo-Addo, the Guest of Honour, said the plan was to create satellite campuses at the Ejura and Wenkyi Agricultural colleges once the university was established.
“The reason why the establishment of this university dedicated to agriculture excites me very much is because it will produce the requisite numbers of human resources to support research, impart knowledge and provide leadership in the sector,” he said.
“I pledge the support of government to make this dream a reality and I charge the Ministry of Agriculture to step up efforts and strengthen the partnership and collaboration with Mendel University to realise this vision,” the President stated.
He said more than 50 per cent of the population were engaged in agriculture with the poorest engaged in food crop farming, stressing the need to revamp the sector to ensure a meaningful change in the lives of the people.
He said the college was central to the transformative agenda of Ghana’s agriculture through the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ).
By its design, the PFJ targeted smallholder farmers, modernised all sectors of agriculture, increased overall productivity, reduced import dependency, established a strong linkage with industry, and ultimately reduced poverty.
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Agriculture, said the Ministry was committed to upgrading the college and would work with relevant stakeholders to achieve that.
He applauded past and present managers of the college for their significant contributions to the development of agriculture in the country.
According to him, he is convinced that the ‘galamsey’ kingpin, who was recently remanded to police custody, is not been detained by the police because he does not trust the nation’s security apparatus, 3news.com reports.
“I can tell you on authority, Aisha Huang doesn’t sleep in Police cells,” he is quoted to have said on the New Day show on TV3 Thursday, September 29.
“Even the president is saying that he is not sure that she was deported. So you trust our security apparatus? No,” he noted.
The Accra Circuit Court 9 judge, presided by Samuel Bright Acquah on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, for the second time denied Aisha Huang and three other Chinese nationals bail.
Aisha Huang is now facing a total of six charges relating to illegal mining activities and other immigration offences.
Until, September 16, Aisha was facing two charges along with three other accomplices, in an Accra Circuit Court, after they were arrested earlier this month for allegedly mining without a license and engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame, filed four new charges at the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court during a virtual hearing that took place in the court of Justice Lydia Marfo.
The charges are undertaking a mining operation without a licence, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation, illegal employment of foreign nationals, and entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry.
The government is sure that by the end of the year, the country will have reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that will assist stabilize the economy and alleviate citizens of their current financial burdens.
Last Tuesday in Accra, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, stated that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo expected to meet the December deadline and that his administration was working to make that happen.
Addressing some bank executives and the media at an event to sign an agreement between selected financial institutions and the government for the YouStart programme, Mr Ofori-Atta said the President wanted the negotiations to be concluded and a deal secured before the 2023 Budget was laid before Parliament.
He said the timeline was to enable the government to incorporate the expected IMF programmes into the 2023 Budget for onward implementation from next year.
Next year’s budget is due to be presented by November 15.
Crunch time
Speaking about the government’s commitment to revive the economy, Mr Ofori-Atta said now was a crunch time for the government as it raced against time to secure a deal from the IMF.
“As you know, the President wants this thing to be done before the budget and the budget should be done by November 15. So, it is really a crunch time now,” the Finance Minister.
He said a team from the fund was expected in the country from September 26 to 27 for the second round of negotiations after which the discussions will continue in Washington D.C. during this year’s Annual General Meeting of the World Bank and the IMF from October 10 to 16.
The minister said although Zambia took three years to conclude negotiations for its programme, which was announced this September, Ghana was optimistic that it could seal a deal by December.
Ghana opened discussions with the IMF for a programme in July.
No murmurings
Mr Ofori-Atta said, “I think we are determined to do that (secure a deal by December) and we need, as a nation, to move beyond the murmurings and to understand that we can do that.
“It is quite encouraging but also shameful when you hear the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, saying after meeting the President that we are determined to reach an agreement by the end of the year yet when you listen to our radio, you wonder whether we are friends or enemies of our own country,” he said.
He, however, said that enthusiasm was needed to pull the country out of the current challenges to build a stronger economy that can meet the growing needs of individuals and businesses.
Entrepreneurial instincts
Turning his attention to the YouStart, the Finance Minister said the initiative was the outcome of lessons learned from the covid-19 pandemic.
“Fundamentally, we had to adopt this approach because the pandemic taught us we must re-orient our approach towards structural transformation and react with a clear plan to ‘reap the benefits of our population dividend by building an entrepreneurial state,” he said
“This focus on building our young people’s skills and entrepreneurial ‘instincts’ is an informed one,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.
Joblessness
Mr Ofori-Atta said data showed that about 50 per cent of local employers reported misalignment of or inadequacy of skills in the market, with Mckinsey also reporting that at least 50 per cent of new tertiary institution entrants enrolled in programmes in sectors with little or no growth in the labour market.
He said the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) also suggested that the unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 35 was 19.7 per cent.
“Even for those who are perceived to be working, 50 per cent of them are classified as under-employed.
“These statistics underscore the dire need to resolve this spectre of youth unemployment across our communities.
“Inevitably, this leads us to today’s event, where the Government of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Finance, will sign an agreement with the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) and 13 leading banks for the YouStart Commercial Programme.
“Never in our history has there been a commitment of this size and scale,” he said.
Benefits
Mr Ofori-Atta was optimistic that the programme would help to strengthen the links between education and job market stakeholders, provide access to finance, skills and markets for young entrepreneurs and grow the capacity of the private sector to create jobs.
“Undoubtedly, we all are responsible for ensuring that YouStart becomes the primary vehicle for creating a million jobs over the next three years,” the minister said.
Turning point
The Chief Executive Officer of the GAB, Mr John Awuah, said the signing ceremony marked a turning point for the YouStart financing model.
He said the banks and the government had worked tirelessly to put the programme together and expressed the hope that the implementation would be smooth.
When it was his turn to speak at the Global Citizen Festivalat Independence Square over the weekend, President Akufo-Addo was booed by some fans.
A lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Political Science, Ransford Gyampo has condemned the heckling of President Akufo-Addo at the just concluded Global Citizen Festival.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday ( 27 September) Gyamposaid despite the current economic challenge in the country, Ghanaians must respect the president.
“A few days ago, patrons at the 2022 Global Citizen Festival, we are told, hooted at President Akufo-Addo when he mounted the podium to deliver a speech at last night’s event held at the Black Star Square in Accra.
“Thousands of patrons turned up at the event grounds to witness the international festival, with several local and international artistes performing. But when the president mounted the stage to address the crowd, people started chanting and hooting at the president, making it difficult for him to deliver his address.”
This, according to her, may be accomplished by concentrating attention on achieving the ICT-enabled sustainable development objectives and targets by 2030 within the next eight (8) years.
She said that the Ghanaian administration, led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Co-Chair of the Group of Eminent Advocates for the United Nations’ SDGs, was dedicated to the international strategy of cooperating to better people’s lives all over the world through the use of technology.
“This is even more critical as the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies of all nations, makes it imperative for our governments to accelerate digital transformation as the key for our economic recovery,” she noted.
The Hon. Minister was speaking at a Round Table meeting today at the Ministerial Roundtable Sessions on the topic: “Building a Better Digital Future For All” at the Palace of Parliament, Human Right Hall in Bucharest, Romania.
The meeting forms part of preparations ahead of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference, 2022 and it’s scheduled for September 26 to October 14, 2022.
The Minister said Ghana has started the preparation to facilitate the expansion of digital infrastructure aimed at opening up broadband access to accelerate the provision of meaningful content and smart services that would benefit all citizens in the country.
“The bridging of the digital divide is a major concern of Government and we continue to create digital opportunities for the marginalised, the elderly, and people in rural, remote, and underserved areas under our Universal Telecommunications/ICT Fund Management”, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said.
She, therefore, stated that the government was also implementing strategic policies that would ensure inclusiveness of inculcating basic digital literacy in the educational curricula and also putting up community-based digital laboratories while being mindful that digital skills development was the cornerstone of digital transformation.
Touching on the gender technological gap, she indicated that, Ghana had prioritised digital gender equality and that women and girls were encouraged and empowered to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
“We are committed to a cross-sectoral approach to development and enhanced collaboration with the private sector to aid rapid digital transformation. The Government of Ghana continues to work towards the creation of a fair regulatory environment and stability through the development of new spectrum farming policies to encourage the private sector to roll out new generation infrastructure and provide affordable and meaningful connectivity,” Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said.
She emphasised the need to build confidence, trust, and security in cyberspace to promote a safe digital /ICT ecosystem.
“It was important to work with the guidelines provided by the ITU and other global cooperation networks, and also work with other neighbours to build a Regional cyberspace that would be resilient to attacks,” she added.
She noted that Ghana is committed to the global growth strategy that we have given ourselves under the guidance of the ITU to ensure that all nations pursue a path of digital transformation that will enhance meaningful universal connectivity and access.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo‘s handling of the economy, according to the ranking member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has inspired him to desire to write a book about the president called “How not to run an Economy.”
The politician Ajumako Enyan Essiam claims that President Akufo-Addo has cemented his legacy as the first person to manage the economy in a negative manner since Ghana gained independence in 1957.
He stated that had his plea for IMF support been heeded sooner, Ghana might have been in a better economic position. He listed wasteful spending and borrowing as some of the reasons the government has failed in its management of the economy.
“The kind of mismanagement faced by the Ghanaian today is unprecedented. What we are seeing from Nana Addo since he became president, I have to write a book about him -how not to run an economy because the mismanagement has been legendary and he has set all the negative records in managing an economy,” he explained.
Speaking with Kwesi Parker-Wilson on Kumasi-based Oyerepa FM’s Ghana Te Sen, the former Deputy Minister of Finance charged Ghanaians to rise up and speak against the bad policy choices of the government.
He added that the policies are scary and that it will take the country about 20 years for it to recover from the economic mess supervised by the current administration.
“The way Akufo- Addo is managing the economy, it will take us 20 years to repair it. We must all rise and speak up against the mismanagement. The government must admit that they will crash the country so they must live above politics and ask for help to solve the economic problems. NPP has shown clearly that they can’t solve the problem but rather have aggravated the problem,” he stressed.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has called for an urgent reform of the international financial system, as the current monetary system is skewed against developing countries.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “the financial markets have been set up and operate on rules designed for the benefit of rich and powerful nations, and, during times of crisis, the façade of international co-operation, under which they purport to operate, disappears.”
Taking his turn to speak at the United Nations General Assembly, on Wednesday, 21st September, in New York, the President stated “these are the savage lessons that we have had to take in, as the world emerged from the grip of the coronavirus to energy and food price hikes, and a worldwide rise in the cost of living. The necessity for reform of the system is compelling.”
Stressing that “our world is currently not in a good place”, he recalled an observation by the World Bank which has described the global economy as “enduring its steepest slowdown since 1970.”
With the world confronted by a devastating global economic pandemic, pushing Africa into its worst recession for half a century, President Akufo-Addo stated that a slump in productivity and revenues, increased pressures on spending and spiralling public debts confronted the continent without relent.
“As we grappled with these economic challenges, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine burst upon us, aggravating an already difficult situation. It is not just the dismay that we feel at seeing such deliberate devastation of cities and towns in Europe in the year 2022, we are feeling this war directly in our lives in Africa. Every bullet, every bomb, every shell that hits a target in Ukraine, hits our pockets and our economies in Africa,” he said.
Describing global inflation as “the number one enemy this year”, President Akufo-Addo noted that “it hit a 40-year-high in the US and UK in recent months. There is record inflation in the euro zone. Several African countries have inflation rates surging three to four times higher than what they were just two years ago.”
In Ghana, the President indicated that “we are experiencing the highest inflation for 21 years. The high costs of food are hurting the poor, especially the urban poor, the most.”
The spill over from the raising of interest rates by central banks across the world to combat inflation, according to the President, has been severe beyond borders, as global investors pull money out of developing economies to invest in bonds in the developed world.
This, he explained further, has led to depreciating currencies and increased borrowing costs; meaning economies in Africa need to raise and spend more of our own currencies to service foreign debts in US dollars.
“It has become clear, if ever there was any doubt, that the international financial structure is skewed significantly against developing and emerging economies like Ghana. The avenues that are opened to powerful nations to enable them take measures that would ease pressures on their economies are closed to small nations,” he said.
To make matters worse, President Akufo-Addo noted that “credit rating agencies have been quick to downgrade economies in Africa, making it harder to service our debts. The tag of Africa as an investment risk is little more than, in substance, a self-fulfilling prophecy created by the prejudice of the international money market, which denies us access to cheaper borrowing, pushing us deeper into debts.”
History, the President stressed, “will judge us harshly if we do not seize the opportunity to make the changes that will enable us deal with the many problems we face.”
Sahel Conflict
Touching on the conflict in the Sahel, President Akufo-Addo noted that the conflict has moved from the Sahel, inexorably, to the West African coastal countries, with all of Ghana’s neighbours suffering terrorist attacks, with some losing territorial space to the invading forces.
The terrorist pressure, he explained, the terrorist pressure has provided a pretext for the unhappy reappearance of military rule in three (3) of the fifteen (15) member ECOWAS Community, two (2) of whom have borne the brunt of the terrorist outrages in the Region – Mali and Burkina Faso.
“All of us in the Region are being forced to spend huge amounts of money on security. This is money we should be spending on educating and giving skills to our young people; on building much needed roads, bridges, hospitals and other such infrastructure, which we are spending to fight terrorists or to keep them out from destabilising our countries.”
This, according to President Akufo-Addo, is a global problem, deserving the attention of the world community for a global solution.
The Tamale Airport Development Project’s Phase Two of development has been finished, costing US$70 million, and is ready for commissioning by the end of the year.
The 400,000 passenger capacity, 5,000 square meter airport is expected to increase investment, tourism, and the local economy in the Northern Region.
A contemporary terminal, a VIP Lounge, two boarding gates, four self-service check-in kiosks, and eight check-in desks were all built as part of the extension project.
Additional amenities included airline offices, a commercial shopping center, a multipurpose terminal for Hajj travel assistance, a 350-space parking lot, and a five-kilometer road system.
Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, the Northern Regional Minister, announced this in Accra on Sunday when he took his turn at the Minister’s press briefing.
The Minister updated the public on major physical infrastructure and social services undertaken by the Government over the past five years, especially on health, transport, agriculture, One- District, One-Factory and projects being implemented under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) by the Northern Development Authority.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on August 15, 2019 cut the sod for the construction of phase two of the Tamale Airport Development Project and scheduled to be completed within 26 months.
“It is on record that the Tamale Airport can boast of the best Tarmac in the country. It could be a major hub for air cargo for exporting agricultural produce in the West African Sub-region,” Alhaji Saibu emphasised.
The interchange would boost the local economy, create employment and add to the beauty of the city, the Minister stated.
Six flagship programmes under the “One-district, One-factory” were in operation in the Region, employing more than 1,000 permanent and 3,000 casual workers respectively, he said.
Alhaji Saibu stated that a total of 353.79 kilometres of road projects were ongoing in the Region, with 60 per cent of them at various stages of completion.
Also, the Ghana Highway Authority had undertaken various road maintenance works such as regravelling, rehabilitation, resealing and sectoral rehabilitation works on roads across the Region including Salaga-Bimbilla road, Tamale-Daboya road and Kpatinga-Gaa road as well as rehabilitation of the Barwah Barracks, the Minister said.
Under the $2-billion-dollar Ghana-Sinohydro Master Project Support Management, the Minister said the first-ever Interchange in the northern sector of the country was constructed-Tamale Interchange- which was opened to traffic on March 29, 2022 by President Akufo-Addo, thereby opening up the local economy and creating many employment avenues for the teeming youth.
On health, he said, a total of 118 projects were ongoing including CHPS compounds, health centres, clinics, maternity wards, accommodation for health workers and administration blocks, with 82 of them completed, representing 72 per cent.
The Minister said although there had been tremendous progress in infrastructure facilities in the Region a lot more needed to be done to enhance the living standards of the people and eradicate poverty from the Region.
He said the current New Patriotic Party(NPP) government is the best the country has ever had.
Speaking in an interview in Kumasi, the popular actor said the communications department of the government are not propagating the works of the President enough.
In his opinion, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has accomplished more than any other President the country has had during the fourth Republic, hence it is important to emphasize this.
“Akufo-Addo’s administration is the only one that has worked hard and kept its promises. Kufour took action. He made us value the concept of majority rule. I travel extensively throughout this country and have witnessed the enormous improvement in person, thus I wonder why Communicators are failing to project.
“Although Ghanaians sometimes offend me, no government has performed as well as the one led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.”
“If you know history, you’ll realize Kwame Nkrumah didn’t accomplish anything. In a discussion with Kwaku Manu, he said that all he had done was “acquire what the border aces did.”
On one of his regional tours, President Akufo-Addo recently said Ghanaians are lucky to have him as President.
According to him, he has the country at heart and this has reflected in all the policies and infrastructure he has done since he became President.
On his tour in the Savannah Region, President Akufo-Addo wondered why the Yapei-Kusawgu District was still underdeveloped even though they keep voting for the opposition party NDC.
Agya Koo has said it all. If NPP communicators will be aggressive about their achievements NDC won’t even be an option.
No President since independence has done more than Nana Addo. The media is just focusing on the cost of living and exchange rate. pic.twitter.com/pwJCn9KKJl
However, assuring the Chiefs and people gathered at the function, President Akufo-Addo hinted that, he is going to heed their cry because he is the best Ghanaians can have.
“But Yagbonwura, you are lucky, you have me as the President of Ghana. I’m going to do it for you. In the same way, no secondary school, no Senior Technical School, in the whole of Kusawgu area, ahhh, eiiiiiii”, he wondered.
The President also took a swipe at the NDC Member of Parliament for the constituency, former Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor.
Bright Simons, the Honourary Vice President of IMANI Africa, has blasted the Akufo-Addo administration for persistently peddling a misleading narrative about how the Russia-Ukraine war has affected Ghana.
He claims that there is no information available to suggest that the ongoing situation is negatively affecting Ghana.
Bright Simons asserted on September 21 at the 2022 Baah-Wiredu Lecture in Accra that because Ghana’s economy is not as vulnerable to that of Russia and other nations, the government’s reasoning for attributing the crisis to the country’s current economic difficulties is unconvincing.
“When we start to do the comparative analysis, you cannot use some other factor that has had a uniform effect. I tried my best to give you factors that could have shown that Ghana has been affected more, and as you saw I struggled with the data. I went to jobs, I went to growth, I went to how many people were killed and none of it bears out that we were affected worse,” he is quoted by Joy Business.
“So, if you are the worst performing in terms of currency, you cannot complain and say it is because of some factor that has affected everybody uniformly. It is as simple as that,” Bright Simons added.
The IMANI Vice president, however, blamed the current economic challenges on continuous wastage in expenditure by government and its other auxiliary agencies and institutions.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently speaking at the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York reiterated the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war especially on African economies.
According to him, “Every bullet, every bomb, every shell that hits a target in Ukraine, hits our pockets and our economies in Africa. The economic turmoil is global with inflation as the number one enemy this year”
IMF bailout
Government has routinely explained that recent economic headwinds are attributable largely to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the banking sector clean-up.
The rippling effect has been an increase in the cost of living, record high inflation rates and downgrades of the economy by rating agencies such as S&P and Fitch – a situation which has dealt a heavy blow to government’s ability to access the international capital market.
The Cedi has also been on a free fall compelling the Bank of Ghana to resort to hiking its monetary policy rate to deal with the situation.
The worsening economic situation compelled the government in July to initiate contact with International Monetary Fund for an economic support programme.
Ghana is targeting an amount of US$3 billion over three years from the Fund once an agreement on a programme is reached.
Government hopes to complete negotiations by end of this year in order to receive the funds in the first quarter of 2023.
The declaration by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that Ghana is establishing an integrated bauxite and aluminum sector has been hailed as refreshing by Dr. John Kwakye, Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
He claims that the action is intended to alter the regional economy.
The economist stated in a tweet seen by GhanaWeb, “It’s encouraging to learn from the President’s speech at the UN that Ghana plans to explore its entire lithium value chain in addition to developing an integrated bauxite and aluminum industry, processing its cocoa, refining its gold, and refining its bauxite.
The transformation of the economy is about [about] this.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo while speaking at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, disclosed that Ghana was building an integrated bauxite and aluminium industry.
He added that Ghana was refining more of its natural resources – especially – gold, as well as, processing more of its cocoa.
He said, “We are processing more of our cocoa, refining more of our gold, and we are determined to exploit the entire value chain of our huge lithium deposits.
“We are busily building an integrated bauxite and aluminium industry and an integrated iron and steel industry, building new oil refineries and have, so far, attracted six (6) of the world’s biggest automobile manufacturers to set up assembling plants in Ghana, prior to producing them in the country,” he stated.
He stated that in line with government’s industrialization agenda, the creation of a single market is key to achieving this vision.
President Akufo-Addo noted that Ghana has taken policy measures to add value to its natural resources.
On September 23, 2021, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said that despite government efforts to stabilize the economy, the nation has not yet fully recovered from the shocks of the global coronavirus epidemic.
On September 22, 2021, at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, he made this statement.
President Akufo-Addo said, “We are not there yet, but we are making significant progress.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said at the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, September 22 that although Ghana has made efforts to deal with the effect of the COVID-19, the country is not there yet.
He told his colleague Heads of States that the oil-producing West African country is still making progress at ensuring a full economic recovery from the effect of the pandemic.
“We are not there yet, we are making considerable progress,” President Akufo-Addo said.
The president further said that the government is aiming at meeting its target of vaccinating twenty million people by end of the year.
“Our effort and vaccination has been commended, we are still hoping that we will vaccinate 20 million people by end of the year,” he said.
He further indicated that “Africa seems mercifully to escape the worse of the COVID pandemic.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday advocated for a more inclusive and effective global financial system that meets Africa’s liquidity and debt sustainability needs.
Addressing the 77th annual high-level debate of the United Nations General Assembly, he said the present global economic downturn, which has left many African economies in turmoil, was a pointer that the continent needed a stronger influence on the global economic order.
The high-level General Debates of the UNGA77 opened Tuesday, September 20, 2022 with the theme, “A watershed moment: Transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.” It would end on Monday, September 26.
Reinforcing his point, the President noted that the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the Russian war in Ukraine, had seen inflation rates surging a record four times higher in several African countries, including Ghana, making the cost of food very unaffordable, especially for the urban poor.
“Moreover, the spillover from central banks raising interest rates to combat inflation has been severe beyond borders, as global investors pull money out of developing economies to invest in bonds in the developed world.
“This has led to depreciating currencies and increased borrowing costs; meaning we need to raise and spend more of our own currencies to service our foreign debts in US dollars.”
President Akufo-Addo pointed out that making matters worse, was credit rating agencies that had been “quick to downgrade economies in Africa, making it harder to service our debts.”
He emphasised that the international financial architecture was skewed significantly against developing and emerging economies like Ghana, saying, “the tag of Africa as an investment risk is little more than, in substance, a self-fulfilling prophecy created by the prejudice of the international money market, which denies us access to cheaper borrowing, pushing us deeper into debts.”
“It has become clear, if ever there was any doubt, that the international financial structure is skewed significantly against developing and emerging economies like Ghana… The avenues that are opened to powerful nations to enable them take measures that would ease pressures on their economies are closed to small nations.
“The financial markets have been set up and operate on rules designed for the benefit of rich and powerful nations, and, during times of crisis, the façade of international co-operation, under which they purport to operate, disappears.
“These are the savage lessons that we have had to take in, as the world emerged from the grip of the coronavirus to energy and food price hikes, and a worldwide rise in the cost of living. The necessity for reform of the system is compelling,” he stressed.
Touching on the theme of the 77th session, President Akufo-Addo stated: “We do not have the luxury of being able to pick and choose which big problem to solve.
None of them can wait; the economic turbulence requires urgent and immediate solution; the turmoil and insecurity in many parts of the world require urgent attention; and so does the need to tackle the problems posed by climate change.”
“A watershed moment, indeed, it is, and history will judge us harshly if we do not seize the opportunity to make the changes that will enable us deal with the many problems we face,” he told the gathering.
Many of the speakers at the Assembly focused their debates on the war in Ukraine, the soaring energy and food prices, climate action and ending COVID-19 pandemic.
Africa, with its untapped potential, was the new frontier for manufacturing, technology, and food production, he said, accounting for more than 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land.
“Africa is prepared for commerce.
When it was his turn to speak at the general debates of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, the President urged world leaders, “Africa needs you and you need Africa.
The high-level General Debates of the UNGA77 opened Tuesday, September 20, 2022 with the theme of “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.” It would end on Monday, September 26.
Drawing on the effect of the Russian-Ukraine war that has triggered global food crises, President Akufo-Addo rapped the investor community to see agro-business in Africa more of an opportunity, rather than the perceived, exaggerated risk, which according to him has been false but the dominant narrative.
“There is a renewed commitment towards an inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and economic integration and the intensity of the challenges we face today is only matched, like never before, by the immensity of the opportunity before us.”
“Incidentally, 2022 is billed as Africa’s Year to take action on food and nutrition development goals. We see the current geopolitical crisis as an opportunity to rely less on food imports from outside the continent and use better our sixty per cent global share of arable lands to increase food production.”
“We have enough land, enough water, enough gas and enough manpower to produce enough fertilizer, food and energy for ourselves and for others. You need Africa because Africa is busily building the world’s largest single market of 1.3 billion people,” he stated.
According to a post by AJ+, a social media publication run by Al Jazeera Media Network, the sum will now be added to the projected $116 million annual cost of supporting the royal family that UK taxpayers are expected to foot.
“Queen Elizabeth’s funeral is estimated to have cost $9 million, adding to the estimated $116 million annual cost of supporting the royal family for UK taxpayers.
According to a tweet published on Twitter, hospitals had to cancel “non-urgent” services like cancer treatment because of the event, and many food banks had to close “out of respect.”
Numerous people from all across the world attended the burial of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on September 8, 2022, on Monday, September 19.
With a last ceremony held at Westminster Abbey, where her final burial rituals were performed in front of an anticipated gathering of roughly 2,000 people, the British Monarch has been laying in state from Edinburgh in Scotland all the way to Westminster Hall in London.
The Queen will be led in a procession across London to Windsor Castle following the service.
After a committal service, she will be buried at St. George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle.
King Charles III of Great Britain has extended an official invitation to the Asantehene to attend the state burial of Queen Elizabeth II.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II was invited to the lying-in-state of the late queen as well as the king’s reception, state funeral service, and the foreign secretary’s reception, according to the invitation that was delivered by the Protocol Directorate of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the British government on behalf of the king.
It further stated that the Asantehene could bring his spouse or a companion to the state funeral, which is set for Monday, September 19, 2022.
Otumfuo will be the second invitee to the queen’s funeral from Ghana, the first being President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who was reportedly invited as the president of Ghana, a Commonwealth nation.
Invitations have also been sent to all leaders from the Commonwealth nations.
So far, as the BBC reports, the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese; New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern; and Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, have all confirmed their participation in the funeral.
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and the Sri Lankan president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, have also reportedly accepted invitations.
Other world leaders who have confirmed they will be attending the state funeral include King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, royal families of Norway, Sweden, and Demark, Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, President of the United States of America, Joe Biden and the First Lady Jill Biden.
View Otumfuo’s invitation below:
📌His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, has received the invitation of His Majesty King Charles III to attend the events marking the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.#Opemsuoradio#opemsuo1047pic.twitter.com/gxlFenGnzU
The sugar-producing factory, established in 1964, has become defunct due to technical difficulties and setbacks. The birth of the factory was based on the premise of producing sugar locally to reduce importation but that is yet to yield any results in recent times.
During an interview on Eagle FM in the central region, as part of a working visit to the area, President Akufo-Addo revealed that Park Agrotech Ghana Limited had been selected as the preferred strategic investor for the Komenda Sugar Factory, adding that their recommendation has been approved by Cabinet.
“However, negotiations between the Transaction Advisor (Price Water House) and the Strategic Investor have been unduly prolonged due to several demands made by the Strategic Investor, as well as the effects of the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted consultations between the investor and the Transaction Advisor,†the presidency wrote on its website outlining revival plans for the factory.
“With the delays in concluding negotiations between the Transaction Advisor and the Strategic Investor, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, after given the required notice, terminated the negotiations with the Strategic Investor on 1st September 2021 for their failure to fulfil the conditions precedent to the offer made to them,†it added.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has said the services of the Technical Partner with expertise in the sugar industry has been engaged to manage the technical operations of the factory.
As part of efforts to rope in local content personnel to revive the factory, traditional authorities in Komenda and the adjoining districts have been engaged to acquire large tracts of land for sugarcane plantations.
Though the erstwhile John Mahama administration recommissioned the factory on May 30, 2016, in a bid to get it functioning once again and offer employment for the youth, the move hit a snag as the Akufo-Addo-led government took office shortly in 2017.
The recommissioned Komenda Sugar Factory was expected to create some 7,300 direct and indirect jobs at full operational capacity. The factory is said to be able to crush 1,250 tonnes of sugar cane daily.
Political Analyst Kweku Adu-Gyamfi has accused Senior Advisor to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, of being a very selfish politician.
According to Adu-Gyamfi, Osafo-Maafo, in all the positions he has held in government throughout his political career, has been engaging in deals that benefit him at the state’s expense.
Adu-Gyamfi, who was berating Osafo Maafo for his alleged involvement in the deportation of illegal mining (‘galamsey’) ‘queen’, Aisha Huang, alleged that the advisor to the president supported the move because he had something to gain.
“Has he (Osafo-Maafo) taught of Ghana’s interest before? Have you heard Osafo Maafo ever speaking in Ghana’s interest? He always speaks of what will benefit him.
“This (galamsey) is a very serious matter, and the senior minister was defending someone who has been engaging in this canker that is destroying the country in the name of diplomacy. You can not defend crime in the name of diplomacy,” he said in Twi in an XYZ interview monitored by GhanaWeb.
The political analyst also said that the right processes were not followed before the deportation of Aisha Huang.
Justifying why the state had to deport the Chinese national, the former Senior Minister, Nana Yaw Osafo-Maafo, addressing some concerns of Ghanaians in the diaspora at a town hall meeting on April 18, 2019, revealed that, “Putting [Aisha Huang] in jail in Ghana is not going to solve your money problem. It is not going to make you happy or me happy.”
“We have a very good relationship with China. The main company that is helping develop the infrastructure system in Ghana is Sinohydro; it is a Chinese Company. It is the one that is going to help process our bauxite and provide about $2 billion to us. So, when there are these kinds of arrangements, there are other things behind the scenes. There are many other things beyond what we see in these matters, and everybody is wide awake. The most important thing is that we established regulations and we are protecting our environment. That is far more important than one Chinese woman who has been deported back to her country,” he explained further.
On Monday, September 5, 2022, the Accra Circuit Court 9, presided by Samuel Bright Acquah, remanded Aisha Huang into custody.
This was after Miss Huang, together with three other Chinese nationals, were brought before the court on charges including engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals without a license and mining without a license.
The court could not take into record the pleas of the four suspects because there was no interpreter to help translate proceedings for the Chinese nationals.
The accused persons were not represented by a lawyer. The court adjourned sitting on the case to Wednesday, September 14, 2022.
How she re-entered the country without detection till her recent arrest has been the major question on the minds of many Ghanaians.
Speaking on Day 1 of his visit to the Central Region on Friday, September 2, the president emphasized that he believed in Ofori-abilities Atta’s despite the public’s unhappiness with him.
“I believe that he has the same determination to work us out of this crisis as he showed at the beginning of our government,†the president added.
On the subject of a reshuffle of his ministers, President Akufo-Addo reiterated that the buck stopped with him and so when the time was ripe, he will act accordingly.
“When I am satisfied or someone is doing his work well or not doing his work well, I will act on it. If I am satisfied that the output is still strong, I will know what to do,†he said.
President Akufo-Addo ordered Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta via a July 1 statement 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.
Reports indicate that the government is seeking US$3 billion from the fund to help stabilize the economy. Government has serially blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war for the economic headaches.
Galloping inflation and a weak Cedi have piled pressure on the government to act to avert an economic meltdown. Calls for Ofori-Atta to be axed have come usually from outside the party but also from notable personalities within the party.
