Renowned Ghanaian economist Dr Kofi Amoah has offered his perspective in response to the criticism leveled by Parliament’s Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin,against the potential return of former President John Dramani Mahama.
During a press briefing held in parliament on April 19, 2024, Afenyo-Markin, also the Effutu Member of Parliament, raised doubts about Mahama’s capacity to introduce innovation and vision to Ghana.
He implied that Mahama’s re-election might lead to complacency and internal party discord.
However, Dr. Amoah took to social media on April 20, 2024, to counter these assertions, challenging the ruling party’s stance.
He underscored the current administration’s economic track record, citing issues such as fiscal insolvency, escalating debt, inflationary pressures, currency depreciation, surging unemployment rates, and pervasive corruption as grounds for the NPP government’s perceived failure and the necessity for a change in leadership in the upcoming 2024 general election.
“Listen to the insensitive arguments by the NPP to be allowed by the ‘Suffering Citizens’ of Ghana to remain in power.
“Here’s their record: Bankrupt economy, largest debt, highest inflation, worst cedi, highest joblessness, corruption. Vote them out pls,” he posted.
This exchange comes amid the ongoing debate over Ghana’s leadership and the direction of its economic policies as the nation approaches a crucial election in December 2024.
CEO of Progeny Ventures, Dr. Kofi Amoah, has urged government to prioritize technical and vocational education as that is the key to national development.
Dr. Amoah emphasized that it is imperative to recognize the pivotal role of technical and vocational education in shaping the future.
According to him, technical and vocational education cultivates entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency, nurturing an environment of innovation and creativity.
“Firstly, technical and vocational education equips individuals with practical skills and knowledge that directly meet the demands of industries and the job market.
It forms a strong foundation for specialized careers like engineering, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and information technology. By nurturing technical expertise, we empower our youth to lead the charge in our nation’s industrialization, giving real meaning to the call for jobs as a catalyst for societal progress.”
“In today’s rapidly evolving global economy, adaptability and innovation are paramount. Embracing technical education enables individuals to establish enterprises, create employment opportunities, and contribute to our nation’s economic growth.”
“Thirdly, technical and vocational education bridges the gap between theory and practice. It emphasizes experiential learning, providing hands-on experience through internships, apprenticeships, and practical training. This practical exposure not only enhances skills and knowledge but also instills responsibility, discipline, and work ethic – qualities of great value in the professional world,” he stated.
Dr. Amoah shared these insights as a special Guest of Honour at the Ghana Technical Universities Eminence Awards, held on August 5th.
He emphasized that while there has historically been a misconception that technical and vocational training is for those perceived as less academically inclined, the demand for skilled labor is rapidly rising, challenging this misconception.
He called for concerted efforts by the government, educational institutions, industries, and society as a whole to create an ecosystem that nurtures technical education.
This includes investment in infrastructure, curricula updates, teacher training, and strong partnerships between academia and industry. Through collaborative efforts, a robust technical education system can be built to empower youth and propel nations toward industrialization and economic prosperity.
The outspoken businessman believes that the presence of the death penalty served as a deterrent to those who may seek to harm the nation or engage in heinous acts within society.
In his view, the abolition of the death penalty creates a conducive environment for increased corruption and violence.
According to Dr. Amoah, a more appropriate course of action for Ghana’s parliament would have been to review and refine the existing death penalty law, ensuring that it serves its intended purpose rather than completely abolishing it.
Writing on his verified Twitter handle, Dr Amoah said, “Instead of reviewing to strengthen the country’s death penalty laws to become credible deterrent of corruption, Parliament wants Ghana to be counted among the world’s countries who have abolished the death penalty … SMH.”
Dr. Kofi Amoah firmly asserts that Ghana’s decision to abolish the death penalty was not driven by any external pressure from a development partner. He believes that Ghana, with its unique challenges, should have retained such laws in its legal framework. In a tweet regarding the abolition of the death penalty, Dr. Amoah emphasized that the country’s specific circumstances warranted the continued existence of these laws in Ghana’s statute books.
“Parliament is wrong with the abolition of the death penalty in Ghana. Corruption and corruption-related offenses are KILLING Ghana, big time!
And this has also created a culture of “get-rich-quick-by-any-means”, poisoning the indispensable essence of honesty and hard work that are necessary for the advancement of any society. Instead of reviewing to strengthen the country’s death penalty laws to become a credible deterrent of corruption, Parliament wants Ghana to be counted among the world’s countries that have abolished the death penalty … SMH.
Do we really appreciate the challenges Ghana faces and the areas of governance we must differ so that we can also make progress and catch up with the “developed world” we wish to compare ourselves to?
A new progressive Parliament and Prez must propose more robust Death Penalty Laws for larger public discussion and adoption. We must remove the cancer that is killing our dreams for PROGRESS!!”
The decision by parliament earlier this week to abolish the death penalty means Ghana joins a long list of African countries that have done so in recent years.
The country currently has 170 men and six women on death row, whose sentences will now be replaced by life imprisonment. The last execution took place in 1993. Execution has been the mandatory sentence for murder in Ghana.
PARLIAMENT IS WRONG WITH THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN GHANA
Corruption and corruption- related offenses are KILLING Ghana, big time!
And this has also created a culture of “get-rich-quick-by-any-means”, poisoning the indispensable essence of honesty and hard-work that… https://t.co/7M8ii1CSAH
Dr Kofi Amoah, one of Ghana’s successful businessmen and economists, has advised the government to revisit and review its free trade policy as it tries to drain revenue domestically to finance its development.
According to Kofi Amoah, one of the surest ways for the government to stimulate growth in the local economy is to provide a conducive environment for local production to thrive.
He is, therefore, admonishing that some form of protectionist approach should be deployed to ward off the unfair and incessant influx of foreign products onto the local market.
This he believes would provide the impetus for local manufacturers to thrive, invariably driving up job creation and revenue mobilization.
In a series of tweets on his verified Twitter handle @amoah_citizen, Dr Amoah posited that all developed economies at some stage in their development adopted a protectionist approach to help their infant industries to grow.
“A country’s international trade practices may retard or accelerate her progress Ghana/Africa is poor partly due to the timidity to do what’s right and in their interest instead of what they have been told to do which benefits outsiders more. Successful countries use tariffs and other policy instruments to protect their domestic markets from unhealthy competition.
“Today’s successful countries protected their internal markets for their young, inexperienced companies from outsiders Ghana’s wrong policy of free entry of products from more experienced foreign companies will kill our efforts 4 domestic production and JOBS.”
Dumping
Asked by one of his followers why prices on local producers cannot be reduced to match that of imported products, Dr Amoah pointed to the phenomenon of dumping and reemphasized that it is part of the reasons Ghana must not open its borders to every imported product.
“ There’s something called DUMPING… that’s when a country targets a specific product market in another country to underprice the native producers of that product; due to the foreigners lower pricing (better quality n packaging), consumers prefer to buy their products and eventually kills the domestic producer for lack of patronage. Please note that the lower pricing of the imported product is below the cost of making the product or sells higher in the exporter’s country than in the importing market After killing domestic competition, they raise the price as a monopolist, causing trade injury to the importing country.”
Learning by doing
Dr Amoah also called for patience for domestic producers whose quality may not immediately match up to that of imported products from more advanced economies. He argues that without bold policies Ghana and Africa will always bend to the needs of its colonial masters at the detriment of its citizens.
“ This is why it’s important for Ghana/Africa to protect their nascent producers for some time to make room for a “learning-by-doing” period, which helps to improve product quality, packaging and pricing It’s the reason countries impose high tariffs (taxes) on imports to protect home-made products and create JOBS at home!”
Protect 1D1F policy, infant companies from external predators
Dr Amoah said the government’s flagship 1D1F policy will not bear fruits if policies are not adopted to give it meaning. Speaking to GhanaWeb to expand further on the topic, Dr Amoah said: “ I don’t know how many times we must keep warning our policymakers about some of the rudiments and indispensable nature of post-colonial economic and social development
Now we can see how a 1d1f policy may sound good in concept but in practice becomes an albatross if you don’t join it up with a serious policy that protects your infant companies from external predators.
Almost all of Ghana’s post-colonial classmates enacted some protection for their new/young local businesses from external competition in their domestic markets… a practice that started with the UK, US, Germany, Japan to be continued by China and the Asian Tigers … but unfortunately to be ignored incomprehensibly by the independent African countries, taking advice from their colonial masters who still wanted and needed access to these African markets for the products of their factories.
The video of the Ghana Gas Cylinder company that has now been closed and their workers sent home because of easy entry by Chinese companies into Ghana is a practical manifestation of the consequences of free trade policy of a third-world economy.
Africa as a block must review her membership of the WTO and use her markets as an asset for the benefit of Africa first… and buy time to be efficient and competitive to strengthen her homegrown companies to be able to participate effectively and profitably in their domestic as well as in the global markets
This must be seen as an existential matter for Africa and its dismissiveness has been a key cause of the lack of growth and progress since independence and will continue into the future if Africa continues to ignore it. “
Ghana’s 2014 World Cup coach, Kwasi Appiah, has revealed that president of the now-defunct Normalisation Committee, Dr Kofi Amoah wanted to reduce his salary.
Appiah, who was on a $35,000 monthly salary during his second tenure between April 2017 and December 2019 had issues with Dr Amoah for his refusal to invite Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng to the Black Stars despite an order from the then GFA boss.
Dr Amoah earlier threatened to sack the Appiah for not following his orders.
“He threatened to sack me but I told him I am not afraid of being sacked. Those threats, I have heard them several times but I’m not the type that those threats get to me,” Appiah said on Prime Take with Muftawu Nabila Abdulai on the Joy News channel on Sunday.
Appiah’s contract was expected to end in April 2019, but due to the AFCON which was moved to June-July, it was extended to have him lead the team to the competition, but before that Dr Amoah wanted to cut his salary.
“He had a conversation with me about my contract and he was thinking of reducing my salary, but I told him look, you can’t reduce my salary, then he should take the job.
“He thought I didn’t deserve the [$35,000] salary I was on and when you do that, you are disrespecting whoever you are dealing with.
“His posture even showed that he had no respect,” he noted.
He questioned if Dr Amoah would have had the temerity to try to reduce the salary “If it was white guy in charge of the team, or the one who was there before [Avram Grant], we were paying more than $50,000, would he have done that?
“Is it because I am a Ghanaian, I don’t deserve to be paid well? I even said if you are reducing my salary to give it to my assistants, I will be fine with it, but not to just reduce it, that I won’t accept.
“He should take the job,” he said.
Kwasi Appiah led the Black Stars to exit the tournament at the round of 16 stage after losing to Tunisia via penalty shootout.
Outspoken businessman and economist, Dr Kofi Amoah, has criticised ministers who have announced their resignations from the Akufo-Addo administration.
Dr Amoah in a series of tweets said the decision of those ministers smacks of selfishness, especially because they are leaving at a time the country’s economy is in a nadir state.
His comments come following the recent resignations of Trades and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen and Agric Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto.
The two have resigned to focus on their presidential ambitions as the NPP race to elect a new flagbearer ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Kofi Amoah is of the firm belief that people who have no sense of duty and are comfortable leaving when things are going wrong to pursue their personal glory are either traitors or opportunists who should not be trusted.
“A Captain exchanging a damaged sinking ship for an imaginary unbuilt ship is a traitor and an opportunist, who cannot be trusted. Ghana needs captains with selfless determination to stay the course and not those who resign in times of distress. Please watch their actions, not their words.”
A Captain exchanging a damaged sinking ship for an imaginary unbuilt ship is a traitor n an opportunist, who cannot be trusted
Gh needs captains with selfless determination to stay the course n not those who resign in time of distress
Explaining further in an interview with GhanaWeb, Dr Amoah surmises that, “ The resignations of Cabinet Ministers to go pursue their personal ambitions to become president must be analyzed properly for meaning and significance.
The time fit captains to abandon their ships is not when it’s sinking… that’s when their passion and commitment to their passengers are most needed to take them to safety.
Often people already had ambitions to be president before they took up ministerial and cabinet positions… did they use these positions for riches, power and popularity to underwrite their goals for the presidency or they genuinely took the positions to help the affairs of the country.
As they say “The future is unknown but you can manage it a bit by what you do today.”
Ghanaians must begin to be more perceptive in their assessment of how to select leaders so that we can stop getting it wrong most of the time.”
Alan Kyerematen and Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto resign
Minister of Trade and Industry, John Alan Kyerematen earlier this month resigned from the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government. The former diplomat tendered his resignation on January 5, 2023. Alan is one of the frontline candidates expected to contest for the flagbearership of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP). Others include Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Assin Central Member of Parliament (MP) Kennedy Agyapong and former NPP General Secretary, Kwabena Agyepong.
Three days after Alan’s resignation, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister for food and Agriculture also resigned from the Government.
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto was appointed Minister of Food and Agriculture in 2017 and has served in that capacity for six years.
Dr Akoto led the design and implementation of the Government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme – a policy intended to address the declining growth in the country’s agricultural sector.
The PFJ was launched on April 19, 2017, at Goaso in the Ahafo Region and has since become a key instrument in the Government’s efforts to transform the agriculture sector.
Why does that matter?
It indicates that God has given you some blessings, such as excellent land, abundant rainfall and sunshine, the ability to grow maize, which is used to make flour and bread, and the ability to export all of this, as opposed to us, who import flour to make our bread.
We must reconsider.”
Ghanaian businessman, Kofi Amoah, has asserted that Ghana is more focused on importing goods to sell than manufacturing products.
He noted that the Ghanaian economy is largely service-based. This he said, leads the economy to fail.
Speaking on GhanaWeb’s The Lowdown programme, Kofi Amoah, who is otherwise known as Citizen Kofi said, “We have become a buy and sell country. We are not a make and sell. We are not manufacturing things. We are importing things outside, things we should be able to make. So until your economy has become more sophisticated, if, at the beginning stages, the service sector is the largest portion of your economy, you are on your road to failure. We must be an economy that is making things.”
He stated that government needs to re-strategise its plan to ensure that most of the goods are manufactured locally for Ghanaians perusal and to large extent exported.
Citizen Kofi noted that Ghana has favourable conditions to grow food crops, hence, the need for government and farmers to take advantage to produce more goods onto the market.
Added Dr. Kofi Amoah: “If you look at the list of goods that Ghana buys, you might wonder why this nation is doing this.
Although Brazil’s corn production is 14 times higher than ours, Ghana’s central area enjoys superior climate than Brazil.
Why does that matter?
It indicates that God has given you some blessings, such as excellent land, abundant rainfall and sunshine, the ability to grow maize, which is used to make flour and bread, and the ability to export all of this, as opposed to us, who import flour to make our bread.
We must reconsider.”
He said Ghana has a good climate condition to grow maize compared to other countries like Brazil where Ghana imports flour from.
According to him, it’s about time government and businesses rethink their decision of importing some basic commodities and rather invest more into the growing of agricultural produce.
Dr Kofi Amoah said, “The list of items that Ghana imports if you look at it, you ask why is this country doing this? The central region in Ghana has the best climatic conditions than Brazil but the yield in Brazil of maize is 14 times higher than ours. What does that mean? It means God has given you some gift; your land is excellent, your rainfall, your sunshine, you can grow maize that you use in making flour, and bread, you can export it all but instead of that, we are importing flour to make our bread. We need to rethink.”
“We are blessed people but if we don’t really unite our forces and start thinking properly and have a plan,” he added.
Kofi Amoah said this when he appeared on GhanaWeb’s The Lowdown programme hosted by the Editor-in-chief, Nii Akwei Ismail Akwei.
He said Ghana has a good climate condition to grow maize compared to other countries like Brazil where Ghana imports flour from.
According to him, it’s about time government and businesses rethink their decision of importing some basic commodities and rather invest more into the growing of agricultural produce.
Dr Kofi Amoah said, “The list of items that Ghana imports if you look at it, you ask why is this country doing this? The central region in Ghana has the best climatic conditions than Brazil but the yield in Brazil of maize is 14 times higher than ours. What does that mean? It means God has given you some gift; your land is excellent, your rainfall, your sunshine, you can grow maize that you use in making flour, and bread, you can export it all but instead of that, we are importing flour to make our bread. We need to rethink.”
“We are blessed people but if we don’t really unite our forces and start thinking properly and have a plan,” he added.
Kofi Amoah said this when he appeared on GhanaWeb’s The Lowdown programme hosted by the Editor-in-chief, Nii Akwei Ismail Akwei.
Chief Executive Officer of Progeny Ventures International, Dr. Kofi Amoah, has questioned why Ghana imports flour to make bread for consumption.
He said Ghana has a good climate condition to grow maize compared to other countries like Brazil where Ghana imports flour from.
According to him, it’s about time government and businesses rethink their decision of importing some basic commodities and rather invest more into the growing of agricultural produce.
Dr Kofi Amoah said, “The list of items that Ghana imports if you look at it, you ask why is this country doing this? The central region in Ghana has the best climatic conditions than Brazil but the yield in Brazil of maize is 14 times higher than ours. What does that mean? It means God has given you some gift; your land is excellent, your rainfall, your sunshine, you can grow maize that you use in making flour, and bread, you can export it all but instead of that, we are importing flour to make our bread. We need to rethink.”
“We are blessed people but if we don’t really unite our forces and start thinking properly and have a plan,” he added.
Kofi Amoah said this when he appeared on GhanaWeb’s The Lowdown programme hosted by the Editor-in-chief, Nii Akwei Ismail Akwei.
The decision to close down the Ghana and Africa office of Twitter comes after the platform was acquired by billionaire Elon Musk.
Earlier this month, Twitter fired nearly all its staff in Ghana, which was home to its only office in Africa.
The layoffs according to sources close to the business were part of a global staff cull introduced by new boss Elon Musk.
Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, has been laying off staff worldwide. He said he had “no choice” but to slash the company’s workforce as the firm was losing more than $4m (£3.5m) a day.
Last year, Twitter opened its Ghana office amidst some fanfare with the Ghana president Nana Akufo Addo touting its immense benefits.
Twitter in a statement after arriving in Africa said it was motivated by the desire to “be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”
News of the closure of the Ghana and Africa office was shocking and saddening to many but Dr Kofi Amoah says while it is a painful reality, he wants the episode to spur young African techies to create their own platform.
In a Twitter post on Thursday, 10 November 2022, Dr Amoah wrote, “Yes, the strength of a continent lies in her people. Can the story of Twitter closing its African office end more beautifully: A group of techie young Africans, Nigeria/Kenya/Ghana, have announced the formation of Twitter-Africa named AKASANOMA, funded by the AfDB.”
Dr Amoah has in recent years been leading a charge for Africa to have its own homegrown solutions to the many problems that bedevil the continent.
Businessman Dr Kofi Amoah, affectionately called Citizen Kofi has bemoaned the decision of the microblogging platform Twitter to close down its Ghana and Africa offices.
The decision to close down the Ghana and Africa office of Twitter comes after the platform was acquired by billionaire Elon Musk.
Earlier this month, Twitter fired nearly all its staff in Ghana, which was home to its only office in Africa.
The layoffs according to sources close to the business were part of a global staff cull introduced by new boss Elon Musk.
Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, has been laying off staff worldwide. He said he had “no choice” but to slash the company’s workforce as the firm was losing more than $4m (£3.5m) a day.
Last year, Twitter opened its Ghana office amidst some fanfare with the Ghana president Nana Akufo Addo touting its immense benefits.
Twitter in a statement after arriving in Africa said it was motivated by the desire to “be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”
News of the closure of the Ghana and Africa office was shocking and saddening to many but Dr Kofi Amoah says while it is a painful reality, he wants the episode to spur young African techies to create their own platform.
In a Twitter post on Thursday, 10 November 2022, Dr Amoah wrote, “Yes, the strength of a continent lies in her people. Can the story of Twitter closing its African office end more beautifully: A group of techie young Africans, Nigeria/Kenya/Ghana, have announced the formation of Twitter-Africa named AKASANOMA, funded by the AfDB.”
Dr Amoah has in recent years been leading a charge for Africa to have its own homegrown solutions to the many problems that bedevil the continent.
The majority and minority caucuses of Parliament’s request for the ouster of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has not gone far enough, according to renowned economist and businessman Dr. Kofi Amoah.
He contends that in addition to being fired, the finance minister needs to be looked into for the alleged crimes he committed.
He asserted that Ofori-alleged Atta’s conflict of interest claims should be looked into because of the intermediary role his bank, Data Bank, played in the borrowing of money by the government.
In a tweet shared on October 25, 2022, Dr Amoah added that Parliament must also probe the usage of funds the country got through the various loan agreements and other grants under the leadership of Ofori-Atta.
“SACKING of the Finance Minister should not end there, investigate the ff: 1. Conflicts of interest in the fleecing of the public purse. 2. Full ACCOUNTABILITY of the billions of Eurobond and other Borrowings, COVID funds etc,” parts of the tweet read.
The Minority and Majority Members of Parliament seem to be on the same page following the call to remove the finance minister from office.
The MPs explained that their position follows several concerns over the poor management of the economy, which has forced the government to seek IMF assistance.
Read Dr Amoah’s tweet below:
Ghana Parliament…
SACKING of the Finance Minister should not end there, investigate the ff
1. Conflicts of interest in the fleecing of the public purse
2. Full ACCOUNTABILITY of the billions of Eurobond and other Borrowings, COVID funds etc
Dr Kofi Amoah has charged the powers that be to go the whole nine yards in dealing with persons and companies that flout the nation’s laws on mining.
The astute businessman and economist was reacting to news that structures and machinery belonging to Akonto Mining had been burned by government officials because it had no permit and thus was illegally mining in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.
In a tweet shared on Thursday, Dr Amoah wrote, “No More Tin “gods” in Ghana. AKONTA MINING must be prosecuted for engaging in illegal mining in an area it had no permit. Burning of structures must not be the end but the beginning of having the laws of Ghana to work Hon Jinapor must show his mettle now!
Akonta Mining which has been in the news lately is owned by New Patriotic Party, NPP, Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Bosiako, alias Chairman Wontumi.
According to reports, the destruction of the properties took place on Wednesday, October 12, 2022.
Pictures shared by myjoyonline.com showed several structures made of wood and roofing sheets burning along with some amount of machinery believed to be used in the firm’s operations.
Akonta Mining, which Wontumi insists was into regular mining and not illegal small-scale mining, that is galamsey, was operating from the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve until recently when the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources ordered a halt to their operations.
No More Tin “gods” in Ghana
AKONTA MINING must be prosecuted for engaging in illegal mining in an area it had no permit
Burning of structures must not be the end but the beginning of having the laws of Ghana to work
Hon Jinapor must show his mettle now! https://t.co/XkfRxuxlo2
— CitizenKofi (@amoah_citizen) October 13, 2022
The operation was thus undertaken almost 24-hours after deputy Lands Minister, Benito Owusu-Bio had toured the affected forest reserve.
In a statement issued on September 30 and signed by minister Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Ministry said the firm did not have license to operate from “the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Amenfi West Municipality in the Western Region.”
The ruling government has had a difficult time fighting the illegal mining menace which threatens the food and water security of the country.
According to experts, if the rate and scale of the galamsey destruction is not halted, Ghana will have to import water in the next few years due to the obliteration of the various water bodies.
Dr. Kofi Amoah, an economist, says it is time for the NPP government to implement some of the cost-saving recommendations and ideas made by well-known Namibian politician McHenry Venaani when Namibia faced a comparable situation in light of Ghana’s glaring revenue challenges and mounting debt debacle.
Kofi Amoah claimed in an interview with GhanaWeb that “Ghana may gain not just in cost savings but we can gain with basic lifestyles of leaders to show that we are not a rich country but a poor, struggling one.” Amoah based his statement on a viral video.
“The Namibia example of cost savings must be replicated all over Africa, especially in “broke” Ghana.
Our expenditure patterns have created an unpardonable class structure… the HAVES and HAVENOTS, where the Haves live as vampires on the blood of the nation, and the HAVENOTS are the victims and poor losers.”
It is not a secret that Ghana’s economy has been ailing in the last couple of years, with high inflation, a weakening cedi due to depreciation, and rising debt service cost.
The current economic turmoil may not be peculiar to Ghana alone. However, Dr Kofi Amoah says certain proposals and measures by other African countries who have faced or facing the same challenges can be adopted as part of the recovery process.
According to Dr Amoah, the suggestions espoused by Namibia’s popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani is worth emulating and implementing.
In 2019 during a press conference, Namibia’s opposition leader told the government that they must first introduce harsher austerity measures like reducing the number of vehicles assigned to politicians. “If they want the public to contribute 2% of their salaries”, Venaani charged.
He made these remarks after the call by the government for people to voluntarily contribute a once-off 2% of their salaries for drought relief, at a media conference held in Windhoek.
McHenry Venaani also called for a halt to the practice of government officials travelling first class, something he says should alone be the preserve of the president and not regular government officials. “There is no justification for that, no justification unless you are super rich.”
He also touched on government officials travelling with their wives who are also given different allowances for hotel even though they are expected to share a room with their partners.
He also advocated for the abolishment of perks such as Entertainment Allowance for senior government officials.
He also wants the reduction in the number of motorcades for top government officials in these harsh economic periods so the country can save money to improve the lot of the citizens.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo this year announced that he has slashed his salary by 30% due to current economic difficulties.
Speaking as the guest of honour at this year’s Eid Al Adha prayers in Accra, the president announced the cut to send a signal to citizens about the need to sacrifice as the country goes to the International Monetary Fund for support.
He also announced a 50% cut on fuel for government machinery.
Renowned economist and businessman, Dr. Kofi Amoah, has berated the government for failing to regulate the activities of religious organisations in Ghana.
In a tweet shared on Saturday, October 9, Dr. Amoah intimated that the government’s failure to regularize religious activities has led to the influx of phoney entities who end up scamming Ghanaians.
He questioned why the government looks unperturbed as Ghanaians are continuously scammed by fake religious leaders like Agradaa as countries such as Rwanda crack down on this menace.
“People are continuously robbed of their savings thru deceptions n promises of fake pastors. Good govts protect citizens from such scams.
“Rwanda closed down 700 fake churches n 200 mosques over nite. Why do our political leaders look on unconcerned? WHY?” parts of the tweet read.
Dr. Amoah made these remarks while reacting to a report by GhanaWeb that scores of people who went to the church of one-time fetish priestess, Nana Agradaa, now known as Evangelist Mama Pat, are crying foul in what they described as a scam by the repented woman.
In several short video clips that have since gone viral in the last few hours, a number of the victims are seen running away from the church building of Evangelist Mama Pat, even as many raised alarms about the fact that they had been deceived and scammed.
GhanaWeb’s further checks showed that the people were at the church in their numbers on the day because the repented priestess had earlier advertised through her television channel that she was going to give out monies to people.
She is also said to have advertised that she would double monies that are brought to her church, Heavenway Champion International Ministry, on the day.
However, as has been typical of her, particularly from the days when she was a fetish priestess, it seems the evangelist only played on the gullibility of the scores of people who appeared at her church to extort monies from them.
When she was done, as has been shared in a number of the videos available to GhanaWeb, she booted them out of the building, aided by her well-built bodyguards.
A number of the affected people are also heard ranting and calling her out.
“This is Agradaa’s church, Heavenway, and she advertised on her TV station that she was going to share monies to everyone only for us to get here, and she rather collects monies from people. She told people to bring ten million (GHc10,000) and come for two billion (GHc200,000) after which she asked people to leave the church. Things immediately turned chaotic here,” a lady giving voice commentary in one of the videos said.
People are continuously robbed of their savings thru deceptions n promises of fake pastors
Good govts protect citizens from such scams
Rwanda closed down 700 fake churches n 200 mosques over nite
Why do our political leaders look on unconcerned? WHY? ???????? https://t.co/s2IpLN74XI
Former Ghana Football Association Normalisation Committee president Kofi Amoah believes the West African nation is capable of rising above expectations to win the Fifa World Cup.
Three-time participants at the global showpiece, the Black Stars’ best performance remains a quarter-final finish at the 2010 edition of the tournament held in South Africa.
But for a missed last-gasp extra-time penalty by striker Asamoah Gyan during the last eight clash with Uruguay, Ghana would have been the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the competition.
“The priority should be strengthening the local football league, including grassroots level. Sammy Kuffuor, Michael Essien and most of our top stars made their names from the grassroots level,” Amoah told Citi Sports.
“When the Germans saw their football was in decline, they took a step back and prepared a plan. It took them 11 years, but they won the World Cup in Brazil [in 2014].
“Ghana can win the World Cup. We have the talent, but the organization and the approach are wrong.
“I hope my friends at the Ghana Football Association will fix it.”
After missing out of on the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Ghana have set their sights on making a prompt return to the championship as the Qatar 2022 qualifiers beckon.
Ghana president Nana Akufo-Addo recently tasked the Black Stars to qualify for next year’s championship and go on to reach the semi-finals.
“The target is to bring the cup home by winning Afcon 2022. We must go a step further than our second-placed finishes in 1992, 2010 and 2015 and end the 40-year drought for a title,†Akufo-Addo said last week.
“We must also reach at least the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. Our exploits in 2010, where we reached the quarter-final in South Africa, tell us that once prepared, we have the quality and the talent to match any of the best teams in the world.
“The task might seem daunting, but it is exactly not insurmountable.”
In the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, Ghana have been pitted against South Africa, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe in the second round. The qualifiers start next month.
Division One League clubs in Ghana have proposed that the new GFA Should have a 17-member Executive Board instead of the 11 proposed by the GFA Normalization Committee.
In a meeting held on Thursday 15th August in Takoradi, club owners, CEOs and Directors of the DOLs resolved to send a proposal to the Normalization Committee to consider making the Executive Board 17 members instead of 11.
At the meeting held at the NAKOFF Hotel in Takoradi, former GFA Vice President argued strongly that the 11-member Executive Board proposed by the NC is small insisting it must be 17.
George further suggested, which was accepted at the meeting, that 3 out of the 17 members on the board must be from Division One.
In a document sighted by footballmadeinghana.com, the meeting was attended by GFA Presidential aspirant Nana Yaw Amponsah, Sammy Anim Addo, Lawyer Kweku Eyiah, Jones Abu Alhassan, Wilson Arthur, Joojo Duncan and Baba Gedo.
According to them, the DOL must have a key role to play in deciding the right path for football in the country in the next administration.
