The playful back-and-forth banter between DSTV Ghana, a global broadcasting giant, and Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) , a prominent local network, has captured the attention of Twitter users.
This amusing exchange has become a source of laughter and entertainment for netizens, especially during the lead-up to a match involving Ghana’s national football team, the Black Stars.
Tonight’s game against Mali at 8 pm has fans across the country on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating the outcome. Social media is abuzz with excitement as everyone waits to see how the match unfolds.
The ongoing humorous banter between DSTV Ghana, an international broadcast outlet, and Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) a local broadcasting network, has become a sensation on Twitter.
This light-hearted exchange has tickled the funny bones of netizens, especially as it typically happens before a match featuring Ghana’s national football team, the Black Stars.
Tonight, the Black Stars are scheduled to play against Mali at 8 pm, and football fans across Ghana are eagerly anticipating the game.
Social media is buzzing with excitement as people await the outcome of this highly anticipated match.
The Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Professor Amin Alhassan, has stated that there is no freeze on staff promotions at the State Broadcaster.
During the public hearing of PAC in Accra, the Chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), inquired about the alleged staff promotion freeze at the Corporation.
Professor Alhassan explained that the issue was related to the Board’s decision, which Management had taken up.
He emphasized that promotions at GBC are based on existing vacancies, and until such vacancies are confirmed, promotions are withheld.
Currently, the new organogram is under approval, and work on the new Scheme of Service is ongoing.
Due to the pending confirmation of existing vacancies, the Board decided not to proceed with promotions for this year.
However, Professor Alhassan clarified that it is not a permanent freeze, and if the Scheme of Service is completed and approved in the coming months, promotions may resume.
Dr. Avedzi highlighted that there is a temporary one-year freeze, to which Professor Alhassan responded that they are hopeful that promotions can resume once the necessary processes are in place and approved by the Public Services Commission.
Professor Alhassan reiterated that, according to the guidelines of the Public Services Commission, promotions are contingent on the existence of vacancies, and individuals can only be promoted when such vacancies are available.
He emphasized that if there are no vacancies, employees will remain in their current positions.
“So, there is no freeze, it is only one year, and if for example, the Scheme of Service is completed in the next two or three months, we should be able to argue for the promotion process to keep in, but there is no freeze on promotion,” he said.
Dr Avedzi: “At least there is a freeze for one year.”
Prof Alhassan: “We still think that it is possible, Mr. Chairman, that we might have the promotions, if the process of Scheme of Service is done, and we do the necessary establishment, and it is approved by the Public Services Commission, we will go ahead and do that.”
The Director-General reiterated that in line with the guidelines of the Public Services Commission, one could not be promoted unless there was a vacancy, declaring that “and if there is no vacancy, you stay there.”
Accompanying the Director-General at the hearing was Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information.
Energy Minister, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempehhas stated that Ghana cannot support the practice of some citizens not paying their electricity bills.
To that end, he said, he fully supports the step taken by theElectricity Company of Ghana(ECG) to retrieve funds owed the company.
The action of the ECG, he said was part of the overarching effort in ensuring that the company remained viable to deliver efficient service to consumers.
Dr. Prempeh said these when he led the ECG’s revenue protection taskforce to two companies that owed the company various sums of money.
The Minister during these two engagements bemoaned the situation where companies piled up bills for a very long time and refuse to pay.
“As a country we cannot continue to countenance the attitude of non-payment of bills, among other illegalities and expect optimal service delivery” he said.
He continued “the financial capacity of the generator, transmitter and distributor is very much anchored on prompt payment of bills, especially as we work to clamp down on all forms of losses and intra-sector debts. These 3 segments of the power value-chain are symbiotically dependent on each other and therefore we must work together to clamp down on all forms of losses.
The Manhyia South lawmaker said, there is no excuse whatsoever for the non-payment of electricity bills and drew an analogy where one cannot negotiate with OMCs to get fuel into his or her car. “When you need fuel, you cannot but pay to get it, why can’t you do same for the electricity you consume” he quizzed.
The ECG taskforce continue to mount operations to retrieve all debts owed by the company.
The Managing Director of the ECG Samuel Dubik Mahama earlier said that an amount of GHS5.7 billion was owed to the state power distributor.
He assured that the action of the company was going to be intensified to retrieve all these debts.
“Every month we will show up to collect the debts,” he intimated.
Mr Mahama said so far they are able to collect between 40 to 50 Million Cedis daily since the exercise started.
“I can each day 40 to 50 million cedis everyday, we are expecting it to go up,” he said.
The task force earlier, Monday, March 20, visited institutions such as Parliament, the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) as part of the debt recovery.
Speaking to journalists, the External Communications Manager of ECG, Laila Abubakar said “The national task force is the one that is in charge of the state-owned enterprises, the ministries, departments and agencies and so we have been going with them, we visited Parliament House, they were owing about a GHS13million they have committed to paying GHS8.5million, we saw evidence of that.
“We went to the Ghana Airport Company, they owed arrears of GHS28million of which they made GHS10 million payment instantly just when we got there so we have given them 48 hours to make the full payment.”
She added “Now, we are here at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, they also owe in arrears of about GHS6 million but they have explained to us that because of the way they run their operations they wouldn’t be able to cough out the money for us instantly, they have had some discussions with the Minister of Information and the National Media Commission together with the Ministry of Energy and there was some sort of agreement last years. However, ECG’s point is that there has not been any movement on the debt that is remaining.
“They have explained to us they have a system and they are going to get some money and pay because they have to find innovative ways of coming up with the money and so we have been giving permission to leave them for now for 48 hours.”
Homes of individuals were not excluded.
Laila Abubakar said “In Tema, we have received photos of disconnections happening in residences, we have received photos of them in some of the industries in Tema and they are being disconnected.
“I am hoping that by the end of the day, we should be able to see a lot of money coming in into our accounts.
“Our system has been digitized in such a way that by the end of the day the Managing Director will be able to see how much we have recouped from this exercise and so we will report in a timely basis how much we are making on a weekly basis.”
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) should be partially be blamed for the debt owed by institutions, according toDr. Kwabena Donkor, a former minister of power and current member of parliament for Pru East.
He accused the state power distributor of previously succumbing to pressures from government institutions not to act to retrieve its debt.
Speaking on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 Tuesday, March 21, Dr Donkor said regarding the cause of the debt of the ECG that “It is an attitudinal problem. A lot of government institutions think there is one central government and that there can be debt settlement… there used to be an agency settlement arrangement but that is no more.
“ECG is partly to blame, previously it has succumbed to all sorts of pressures from government institutions. When I was the Minister of Power we put the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance on prepaid, once you put them on prepaid they can’t accumulate debt unless there is a fault, that is the challenge.”
The ECG has been embarking on a debt recovery exercise since Monday, March 20.
The company said that it has introduced a digitalized system to ensure the amount of money received from the debt recovery exercise is monitored directly by the Managing Director of the company.
The task force visited institutions such as Parliament, the Ghana Arprort Company Limited (GACL) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) as part of the debt recovery.
Speaking to journalists after the exercise on Monday, March 20, the External Communications Manager of ECG, Laila Abubakar said “The national task force is the one that is in charge of the state-owned enterprises, the ministries, departments and agencies and so we have been going with them, we visited Parliament House, they were owing about a GHS13million they have committed to paying GHS8.5million, we saw evidence of that.
“We went to the Ghana Airpot Company, they owed arrears of GHS28million of which they made GHS10 million payment instantly just when we got there so we have given them 48 hours to make the full payment.”
She added “Now, we are here at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, they also owe in arrears of about GHS6 million but they have explained to us that because of the way they run their operations they wouldn’t be able to cough out the money for us instantly, they have had some discussions with the Minister of Information and the National Media Commission together with the Ministry of Energy and there was some sort of agreement last years. However, ECG’s point is that there has not been any movement on the debt that is remaining.
“They have explained to us they have a system and they are going to get some money and pay because they have to find innovative ways of coming up with the money and so we have been giving permission to leave them for now for 48 hours.”
The ECG has also been disconnecting homes and industries over debts.
Laila Abubakar said “In Tema, we have received photos of disconnections happening in residences, we have received photos of them in some of the industries in Tema and they are being disconnected.
“I am hoping that by the end of the day, we should be able to see a lot of money coming in into our accounts.
“Our system has been digitized in such a way that by the end of the day the Managing Director will be able to see how much we have recouped from this exercise and so we will report in a timely basis how much we are making on a weekly basis.”
Mr. Benjamin Corley Clottey, a renowned broadcaster and former employee of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, was buried in Accra.
A memorial service was held at St. George’s Garrison Anglican Church, at Burma Camp.
Benjamin Nii Corley Clottey started work as a postal telegraph officer and junior instructor at the postal training school in Accra.
He was later employed at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation in December 1956 as a program’s assistant and announcer and later moved to the Ga section as a translator.
Under his supervision, programmes such as “Africa this week” and “Voice of our Time” gained public recognition.
The memorial service held at the St. George Garrison Anglican church at Burma was attended by family, friends, and former colleagues of the late Mr. Clottey.
The chaplain at the Ministry of Defence, Rev. Canon Lt. Col. Ian Adjei encouraged the family to stay united in these difficult times.
The family of the late Mr. Benjamin Clottey shared some fond memories of him.
Any visitor to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) would have noticed a massive transformation in the road infrastructure on its premises.
Right from the entrance, the road has been asphalted, and the incidence of potholes is now a thing of the past.
The appropriate road markings are visibly displayed, and the parking looks beautifully laid out.
Unlike in the past, the pathways leading to the various departments have been neatly paved, and the area across each pathway is adorned with a thick carpet of lush grass.
The various departments mostly harbour tall buildings, which are now enveloped in brightly coloured green and yellow paintings, making the entire compound a beautiful sight to behold.
The facelift was courtesy of the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr. Amoako Attah.
The GBC internal road project commenced in 2021 as part of the Ministry’s initiative of constructing internal roads of all government institutions.
In December, 2022, the Contractor completed the final phase of the project.
The Director General of GBC, Professor Amin Alhassan, expressed his profound gratitude to the Minister, Mr. Amoako Atta in his Christmas message.
“On this occasion, I want to make a special mention of the Honourable Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Amoako Attah for believing in GBC and helping our compound look great” he said.
GBC and Ghana Highways have since established a collaborative relationship, culminating in the organization of a festival of Nine Lesson and Carols at the Tarmac of the Ghana Highways Authority on Thursday, December 21, 2022.
At the joint programme, Professor Amin Alhassan reiterated his heartfelt appreciation for the completion of the facelift project.
“For us at GBC, we want to use this occasion to express our profound gratitude to the president of the Republic, the vice president and indeed the government for the support that has been extended to GBC during the year through the Ministry of Roads and Highways” he said.
Government has assured road contractors across the country that it will continue to work in their interest to ensure prompt payments of the debts owed them.
According to Government, it will pay “a chunk” of the debts before the end of 2022.
Speaking at the festival of lessons and carols held by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Sector Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Atta said:
“Contractors of this country are doing a yeoman’s job despite all the difficulties, and I want to assure them that government will continue to work in their interest and all their outstanding payments from now onwards will be done from time to time”.
He noted that: “A chunk of outstanding (payments) are going to be effected before the end of the year and it will continue.”
The Minister further appealed to persons living in areas that are yet to benefit from government’s road development to be patient.
“The people deserve to have good roads.”
“I appeal to all those who haven’t had their turn to be patient and calm,” the Minister said.
Despite backlashes from the general public the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation promised to ensure it delivers on its mandate to collect the fees.
Ghanaians noted that it was not GBC’s mandate to commercialize but only serve as a public institution.
State broadcaster GBC will start its house-to-house collection of TV licence fee from this week in Accra.
Speaking at the launch of the collection campaign at Broadcasting House in Accra, Director General Dr. Kwame Akuffo Anoff-Ntow asked the government to help enforce the collection of the license.
He threw a challenge to the public to hold the corporation to task if it fails to deliver on its mandate.
Meanwhile, the President of Salt and Light Ministry, Rev. Joyce Aryee, has asked the public to desist from comparing the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation to other media houses.
A well-known evangelist, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, has called Ghana’s battle against unlawful small-scale mining, better known as galamsey, a joke given how pretentiously everyone has been handling it.
He asserted that the persons involved in the trade are not hiding anything, and that the rules of the nation are freely flouted by them.
In a brief excerpt from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation‘s Breakfast Show, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh spoke about how he had seen firsthand the extent of the environmental harm that galamsey has inflicted.
“I have had the chance to go to Tarkwa, with my team as a form of excursion and curiosity, got to see galamsey sites. We advanced to see some in Obuasi and I think it’s a joke if we make talks that we’re fighting galamsey,” he said.
The revered Man of God went on to say that although national authorities are aware of the origins of galamsey and the reasons it has grown to be such an empowered sector, they are choosing not to address it directly.
“Everybody knows where galamsey is. Everybody knows the perpetrators… how does the equipment get to Ghana? The equipment don’t fly straight from China. The equipment don’t fly straight from Japan. The equipment don’t come straight from other parts straight; it goes through our ports of entry. Who monitors them?
“I think that it’s about time as a nation, we walk the talk and stop limiting ourselves to very trivial things. Galamsey is destroying our water bodies, it has destroyed our nation,” he added.
The Akufo-Addo government has been on a relentless campaign to completely stop galamsey in the country but it has continuously been met with many challenges.
