TIG Post

Tag: news

  • You don’t have the power to solicit taxes for government – Importers & Exporters to OSP

    You don’t have the power to solicit taxes for government – Importers & Exporters to OSP

    The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana has declined the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) request for access to the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) platforms operating at the ports.

    According to the Importers and Exporters, the ICUM platform contains valuable and sensitive data of importers and exporters as well as business operators, hence any breaches caused to the platform in the name of data access could prove futile to the business community.

    Speaking to Starr News, the Executive Secretary for Importer and Exporters Association, Samson Asaki Awingobit indicated that the OSP can make such a request if there is a report made to him that needs investigation or he has picked intelligence on the ICUM that he wants to investigate that will be understandable.

    “Because we strongly believe that the OSP office was not established to do clarification and valuation and collect duty on behalf of the State. In Ghana we use laws and that is why the Office of the Special Prosecutor was established by an ACT of Parliament. It is the same law that established the GRA and that is a globally custom issue of the GRA to be able to collect freight and duty for and on behalf of the government of Ghana not the Special Prosecutor.

    “The Special Prosecutor’s duty is to investigate allegations and corruption practices and I strongly believe that he requesting that they put him on the ICUM system, his mandate is not to do clarifications and collect duties for the government,” Mr. Asaki Awingobit stated.

    He further stated that the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana has been a propagator of best business practices and will support any move by the OSP to ensure the Port sector is free from corrupt practices.

    “However, we also demand for clarity in the discharge of its duties to attract the needed support from industry players,” he stated.

  • New study shows persons interested in news have drastically reduced

    New study shows persons interested in news have drastically reduced

    A comprehensive report from Oxford University’s Reuters Institute, the number of individuals displaying a significant interest in the news has experienced a notable decline over the past six years.

    The study reveals that 48% of people worldwide are currently categorized as very or extremely interested in the news, representing a decline from the 63% recorded in 2017.

    A concerning trend identified in the report is that more than a third of individuals globally, approximately 36%, admit to actively avoiding the news on occasion or even frequently.

    This avoidance behavior highlights a growing disengagement from news consumption among a significant portion of the population.

    The authors of the institute’s report said there was evidence that audiences “continue to selectively avoid important stories such as the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis as they cut back on depressing news and look to protect their mental health”.

    The Digital News Report 2023 also concluded that traditional TV and print news media are continuing to decline, while “online consumers are accessing news less frequently than in the past and are also becoming less interested”.

    Four in 10 people (40%) say they trust most news most of the time, down two percentage points compared with last year.

    The research also reported that more than half (56%) of those surveyed worry about identifying what news is real and fake online – up two percentage points.

    Rise of TikTok

    The most important social media platform for news is still Facebook, although it is in long-term decline, with the number accessing it each week for news dropping from 42% to 28% over the past seven years.

    Facebook has also downgraded news. It says less than 3% of its news feed these days is traditional news stories. The tweaking of the algorithm over recent years has been catastrophic for some organisations that relied on its traffic.


    TikTok and Instagram have both seen increases in use. Instagram is now a source of news for 14% of people, with TikTok on 6%.

    But the figures are much higher for young users. One in five (20%) 18 to 24-year-olds get news from TikTok, up from 15% last year. The report says the platform “is the fastest growing social network in our survey”.

    However, it is not necessarily news from traditional news providers. TikTok users are more likely to get news on the platform from celebrities, influencers or ordinary creators than mainstream news outlets or journalists.

    Reuters Institute director Rasmus Neilsen said: “Younger generations increasingly eschew direct discovery for all but the most appealing brands.

    “They have little interest in many conventional news offers oriented towards older generations’ habits, interests, and values, and instead embrace the more personality-based, participatory, and personalised options offered by social media, often looking beyond legacy platforms to new entrants.”

    Liking, sharing and commenting about news on open social media platforms is also in decline.

    However, while the sharing of articles and engagement time may have dropped, it doesn’t mean such sites are being deserted.

    Twitter made headlines after it was bought by Elon Musk, but the number of people using the site each week appears to have has barely changed. There is, Reuters said, no evidence of a mass movement to rivals such as Mastodon.

  • Todays newspapers front pages

    Source: tigpost.co

  • Ethiopia passes law on hate speech and fake news

    Ethiopia’s parliament has passed a controversial law aimed at curbing hate speech and disinformation on mainstream and social media.

    Critics said the law could be used to suppress dissent ahead of a general election later this year.

    It will be the first poll in Ethiopia since Nobel Peace Prize winner and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018.

    He introduced sweeping reforms and promised free and fair elections.

    But the authorities said the law was necessary to deal with a surge in violence recently witnessed across the country.

    Source: bbc.com

  • In the news today

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