TIG Post

Tag: President

  • Equatorial Guinea: World’s longest-serving president to continue 43-year-rule

    The world’s longest-serving president has won re-election in Equatorial Guinea to continue presiding over his authoritarian regime.

    Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 80, secured almost 95% of votes, officials announced six days after the vote.

    “The results prove us right again,” Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the president’s son, said. “We continue to be a great party.”

    Some opposition candidates stood, but none were expected to win.

    President Obiang has a strong grip on the oil-rich central African nation, with family members in key government roles.

    He seized power in 1979 after a military takeover and has survived several coup attempts.

     

    Upon gaining office from his predecessor and uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, he made some reforms but retained Nguema’s absolute control over the nation.

    Political opposition is barely tolerated and severely hampered by the lack of a free press, as all broadcast media is either owned outright by the government or controlled by its allies.

    It is thought that President Obiang, who has previously denied accusations of human rights abuses and election rigging, intends to use his sixth term to clean up his international reputation.

    In September, the government abolished the death penalty, in a move which was praised by the United Nations.

    Equatorial Guinea has a history of what critics call fraudulent election results.1px transparent line

    What you need to know about Equatorial Guinea

    In 1968, Spanish Guinea gained independence and became the Republic of Equatorial Guinea with Francisco Macias Nguema as president.

    Rights groups have labelled the country’s two presidents – Francisco Macias Nguema and Teodoro Obiang Nguema – as some of the worst rights abusers in Africa.

    The Spanish, French and Portuguese-speaking country discovered vast oil reserves in 1996, but much of the 1.4 million population has not benefitted from this, with poverty still rampant.

    Source: BBC.com 

  • Government must be transparent about Ghana’s debt – Tax Justice Coalition

    For efficient debt management and sustainability, the Tax Justice Coalition Ghana has urged the government to be open about the nation’s debt and its restructuring.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMFDebt )’s Sustainability Analysis, a key part of the Fund’s loan support programme, requires the government to furnish certain data, according to the Coalition.

    The Coalition made this request during a workshop with the title “Ghana’s Debt and Economic Crisis: Global and Domestic Challenges” that was conducted in Accra on Tuesday, November 24.

    Speaking at the event, Dr Vitus Adaboo Azeem, the Chairman of the Coalition, charged the Government to make available all data on Ghana’s debt including quasi-government-backed debt guarantees to fast-track Ghana’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    He said the Government must regularly publish all transactions of State Enterprises, including the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).

    The Coalition said government must ensure the commitment by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to protect Cedi-denominated debts to protect domestic savings to avoid a total collapse of the economy.

    Dr Azeem said, “Government must immediately reduce the cost of government machinery, either by a further cut on the overall emoluments of the office of government machinery and reduce the number of non-essential staff.”

    He also advised that an intentional strategy to grow domestic private capital is a way of increasing local content was developed and implemented by the Government to help solve the current economic crisis the country is facing.

    Apart from this, he encouraged the Government to implement strategic measures to shore up revenue mobilisation effort through technology-based approaches such as automated tax filing and payment systems, efficient tax-related data management systems and improve tax compliance across all the tax handles.

    The Chairman also urged the Government to intensify efforts to curb the illicit financial flows as the nation continued to lose valuable revenues through such avenues.

    He said, “The Government must strengthen state accountability institutions such as the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), CHRAJ, EOCO, Ghana Audit Service and Internal Audit Agency by adequately resourcing and guaranteeing their independence to ensure efficiency in public financial management and fight corruption more effectively.”

  • You’re more than capable; make us proud – Nana Addo to Black Stars after Portugal loss

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured Black Stars players of continuous support from Ghanaians despite the 3-2 defeat to Portugal during the opening game at the ongoing 2023 World Cup in Qatar.

    Nana Akufo-Addo says Ghanaians are optimistic the Black Stars will win the remaining matches to qualify to the next stage of the competition.

    “I know that you are more than capable of going forward, coming out of this competition very well. Fortunately for you, I came here to express the solidarity of the people of Ghana for you and to encourage you. I know you are going to make all of us very proud”, he told the team.

    Earlier in a tweet, the President praised the Black Stars for an impressive performance against Portugal.

    The Black Stars were on the wrong side of a 3-2 loss on Thursday, but a strong second-half performance saw them almost snatch a draw late on.

    A penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo was cancelled out by Andre Ayew’s strike.

    Goals from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao appeared to have sealed the game for Portugal, but they had to endure a nerve-wracking end to the game after Osman Bukari headed in a cross for Ghana.

    In a tweet after the game, Nana Akufo-Addo praised the team for their performance, which he said proved that they could compete with any side at the World Cup.

    “Gutsy performance by the Black Stars in today’s match against Portugal. Very proud of the entire team,” the President said.

    “They live to fight another day, & have shown they have what it takes to mix it up against any team in the tournament. Looking forward to the next game against South Korea.”

    Gutsy performance by the @GhanaBlackstars in today’s match against Portugal. Very proud of the entire team. They live to fight another day, & have shown they have what it takes to mix it up against any team in the tournament. Looking forward to the next game against South Korea. pic.twitter.com/FiDWm5fO4b

    — Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) November 24, 2022

    Prior to the game, Nana Akufo-Addo visited the team at their hotel and offered words of encouragement to the players.

    Ghana will now face South Korea on Monday before taking on Uruguay in their final group game.

  • 30% is Akufo-Addo’s best score on economy, corruption – Spio-Garbrah

    Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, a former Trade Minister, has stated that 30% is President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s best score when it comes to how he has managed the economy and how he has dealt with the corruption fight.

    Speaking in an interview with Metro TV he said, the records relative to the economy and corruption are evident in international anti-graft reports and rating agencies downgrading Ghana to junk status.

    “On a scale of 1-10, where ten is the highest it would be very difficult for them to go above two. They can’t go beyond two. it would be very difficult. I won’t say zero or one because they have done something.

    “But it can’t go beyond two or three, unfortunately, just because of this year. Maybe, last year or before covid-19 they were 4, 5, 6 at different times,” Dr. Spio-Garbrah said.

    “But the last few months especially, with the depreciation of the cedi, they are now in the 1, 2, 3 range,” he added.

    According to Spio-Garbrah, the Akufo-Addo-led government has ‘failed’ with the corruption fight, especially against galamsey which has caused the distraction of water bodies across the country.

    “I don’t want to make it zero but you are the journalist who has shown Ghanaians numerous videos, films, and debates about our water bodies – just to give one area of general concern,” he observed.

    Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah also took a swipe at the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia questioning his economic abilities to rescue Ghanaians from the present predicament.

    “They painted him [Dr. Bawumia] as the wonder kid of the NPP who can perform all kinds of magic. Lock inflation up and give it to the IGP. Locks interest rates and gives it to the IGP. He locks things up and gives them to the IGP. But when they are looking for the key they can’t find it,” he stressed.

  • Akufo-Addo’s 2014 tweet expressing disappointment on Ghana losing a World Cup game pops up

    Ghana has just concluded its first game in the ongoing FIFA World Cup happening in Qatar.

    The game between Ghana and Portugal saw the Cristiano Ronaldo side win controversially with a 3-2 result but that has not taken much away from Ghanaian fans, many of whom have poured out online to express their excitement about the output of the boys.

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was also in Qatar to offer support to the boys, tweeted after the game that he was very proud of the team, looking forward to their next games.

    “Gutsy performance by the @GhanaBlackStars in today’s match against Portugal. Very proud of the entire team. They live to fight another day, & have shown they have what it takes to mix it up against any team in the tournament. Looking forward to the next game against South Korea,” he tweeted.

    Just as all these celebrations have been going on, a 2014 tweet from Nana Akufo-Addo, who was at the time still trying to become president, has popped up online.

    In the tweet, he lamented a number of things that were going wrong in the country at the time.

    One of such things he listed in his tweet was the fact that Ghana was yet to get any game-win in the World Cup that was taking place in Brazil.

    “No water, no electricity, no petrol, no money, no jobs, no mercy, no World Cup victory! #Ghana,” his tweet, dated July 7, 2014, said.

    Ghana is currently going through one of its toughest economic times in history, with nearly every sector of the economy struggling.

    See the 2014 tweet by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo below:

  • Haruna Iddrisu describes 2023 budget as ‘Ɛka mpɛ dede’ budget

    The Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has described the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy as a Ɛka mpɛ dede budget.

    The Akan phrase, teased from the popular ‘sika mpɛ dede’ that was used by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during his last address to the nation, literally means that ‘debt does not like noise.’

    Getting up to second the motion on the floor of parliament for the adjournment of sitting after the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, presented the budget, the Minority Leader called out the minister for excessive borrowing.

    He explained that, with the details of the budget as presented by the minister, and with his own admission that the country is highly-indebted, then the phrase Ɛka mpɛ dede best describes the budget.

    “We have heard the honourable Minister of Finance, before this august House, declare Ghana a high-risk, distress debt country. So, Mr. Speaker, this budget is Ɛka mpɛ dede budget and therefore, he’s put the country on the path to debt restructuring, which he has announced as debt exchange program.

    “So, Mr. Speaker, this budget is Ɛka mpɛ dede budget because he has announced debt restructuring in the name of a debt exchange program,” he said.

    Haruna Iddrisu also appealed to the minister to ensure that he regularizes the government’s borrowing spree.

    “Mr. Speaker, my greatest expectation of the minister is to regularize the borrowing under the amended Bank of Ghana act of 2016.

    “You have to come back to this House to seek our mandate and authorization for your excessive borrowing from the Bank of Ghana, that needs to be regularized,” he said.

    The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, presented the ‘Nkabom’ budget to parliament as part of his constitutional mandate on Thursday, November 24, 2022.

     

  • Ofori-Atta to present 2023 budget in Parliament today

    Under fire Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta will today, November 24, 2022, present the government’s 2023 Annual Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament.

    This is a constitutional exercise to be carried out by the Finance Minister on behalf of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

    “In accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and section 21 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) the Minister for Finance will, on behalf of the President, lay before Parliament the 2023 Annual Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government on Thursday, 24th November 2022,” a statement from the Finance Ministry announced.

    The budget according to the Ministry of Finance will focus on government’s strategies to restore and stabilize the macro economy, build resilience and promote inclusive growth and value creation.

    The Ministry also said it will feature updates on Ghana’s engagement with the IMF for an IMF-supported Programme; year-to-date macro-fiscal performance of the economy; the YouStart initiative under the Ghana CARES Programme; climate action strategies; fiscal measures and debt management strategies to ensure fiscal and debt sustainability and promote growth.

    Mr. Ofori -Atta’s continued clinging to the Finance Ministry has sparked massive disaffection in recent times, with some 95 New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament asking for his dismissal.

    He is currently also going through a vote of censure probe by an 8-member ad-hoc Committee probing some 7 alleged financial malfeasance against him.

    The Minority Caucus has also accused him of financial dishonesty and pitched him against a missing $100 million crude oil revenue, which has been corroborated by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC).

    Following threats by some Majority MPs to boycott the budget reading, the leadership of the New Patriotic Party subsequently stepped in to resolve the impasse.

    Ghana is currently seeking a $3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund due to the current economic crisis. Negotiations are yet to be concluded.

  • Herbal medicine can rake in GH¢30 billion – Traditional medicine practitioners

    Traditional medicine practitioners have indicated that government should refocus its attention on their operations because it can earn the country billions of cedis to deal with the current economic crisis.

    According to them, the herbal medicine sector can fetch Ghana more than 30 billion cedis in revenue if government refocuses its attention on the area.

    Prof. Samuel Ato Duncan, the newly elected president of the association describes the initiative as the ‘green gold agenda’.

    At a recent ceremony to swear in new members of the Ghana federation of traditional medicine practitioners, Prof. Duncan urged the government to pay critical attention to the sector to reap the benefits.

    ‘We will pursue the green gold agenda. If gold and cocoa have failed in turning the economic fortunes of the country, then we must turn to green gold. When I say green gold, what I mean is, we have traditional medicine that we can package properly and sell for deprived exchange to benefit our country,” he said on November 23.

    “I will help find solutions to the challenges confronting the country. This is practical, not just talking. We are ready to help redeem the crisis, Ghana is facing,” Prof. Samuel Ato Duncan added.

    The President of the Ghana federation of traditional medicine practitioners noted that herbal medicines in Ghana are being rebranded to ensure packaging and quality of the products meet global standards.

     

  • Zaporizhzhia: Missile strike kills newborn baby at Ukraine hospital

    According to emergency services, a newborn baby was killed in a Russian missile strike on a maternity unit in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region.

    The only woman in the facility at the time, the baby’s mother, and a doctor were rescued from the rubble.

    Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has accused Russia of instilling “terror and murder” in his country.

    The Zaporizhzhia region, which contains a critical nuclear plant, has been the target of repeated Russian attacks.

    Russian missiles struck the maternity ward of a hospital in the Ukraine-held town of Vilnyansk, close to the frontline, according to Ukrainian emergency services.

    Although the area is held by Ukraine, the whole Zaporizhzhia region is claimed by Russia after self-styled referendums in September.

    Elsewhere on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said two people were killed in shelling on a residential building in Kupiansk – a town in the Kharkiv region which was retaken by Ukrainian forces in September.

    Speaking after both attacks, President Zelensky accused Russia of trying “to achieve with terror and murder what it wasn’t able to achieve for nine months” on the battlefield.

    Several medical facilities have come under Russian attack during the nine-month war, including a strike on a maternity hospital in Mariupol in March which left three dead, including a child.

    Russia at the time said the attack had been staged.

    The World Health Organization has documented 703 attacks on health infrastructure since Russia’s invasion began on 24 February – it defines an attack as involving violence as well as threatened violence against hospitals, ambulances and medical supplies.

    The UK Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that Russian commanders were likely using Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to “prioritise medical facilities as targets of opportunity and strike them with guided munitions if identified”.

    Parts of the wider Zaporizhzhia region are occupied by Russia, including the nuclear plant, which was overrun by Russian forces weeks after the invasion began.

    Russia annexed Zaporizhzhia and other Ukrainian territory in September but has been pushed back on the battlefield in the south, notably in Kherson region. The two armies face each other across the River Dnipro.

  • Confirmed: Prof. Otchere Addai Mensah is new CEO of KATH

    President Nana Akufo-Addo through the Ministry of Health has appointed Professor Otchere Addai Mensah, a Senior Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

    A formal letter from the ministry of health has been received by the Board Chairman of the teaching hospital, Bompatahene Nana Effah Apenteng.

    Source in Manhyia Palace has also confirmed that Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has also received a formal letter from the Health Ministry informing him about the president’s new appointment in line with tradition.

    Starr News checks at the referral facility disclosed that the board chairman of the facility at its last Board meeting briefed the board members about the new appointment which requires their approval

    The hospital’s board after the approval is expected to formally inform the entire working staff of the Komfo Anokye teaching Hospital in the coming days.

    Staff of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) had served notice that they will reject any appointment of non-permanent staff of the Hospital as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

    This followed speculations within the premier hospital that the President in consultation with Ashanti Regional Executives of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is considering announcing the appointment of Prof. Okyere Addai Mensah as a successor to the retired CEO Dr. Oheneba Owusu Danso.

    The said notice from the staff read: “No KATH staff, No CEO; We are capable of managing our own affairs”

    Dr. Oheneba Owusu Danso retired last week after serving the referral facility for over 3 decades.

  • Creating the Ghana we want: a call to action for all Ghanaians

    Dr. K.Y. Amoako, Founder and President, African Center for Economic Transformation Sixty-five years ago, our nation was born. It was born out of indomitable courage in the face of colonialism and imperialism. It was born through shared struggle, bloodshed, and tears. And it was born on the backs and hopes of ordinary Ghanaians.

    I was 13 years old at the time of independence. I grew up with Ghana, and I have lived through our post-colonial journey—the ups and downs, the successes, and the setbacks.

    Ghana has so many reasons to be proud. We have been at the forefront of Africa’s movement not only to independence but also to democracy and citizen empowerment. We are known as Africa’s ‘Black Star’, but we are also its North star. We have led, and others have followed.

    However, we have not yet attained the heights that our forebears fought and bled for. We have not yet realized the Ghana we want — for ourselves, but most importantly, for future generations.

    Despite occasional periods of economic growth, Ghana continues to grapple with critical social and economic challenges that hold us back from achieving our full potential. Our young people are disenchanted and distrustful of our leaders and institutions as they deal with unemployment. The growing polarization of our politics is drawing us further and further apart when we should be working together for our common good. We struggle to translate our abundant natural and human resources into economic and social well-being. At the same time, we must confront and adapt to the challenges—such as climate change, population growth, financial instability, and public health—that pose direct threats to our survival.

    We have reached a tipping point and cannot continue along this path if we are to survive as a nation. As we approach the second half of the 21st century, it is imperative that we stop, adjust our sails, and change course to build the Ghana we want.

    We have a window of opportunity over the next twelve months, before the 2024 election campaigns go into full drive, to build a national consensus around Ghana’s biggest opportunities and challenges and to put those issues squarely on the agenda for debate during the next election.

    It is not enough for Ghana to experience spurts of economic growth with increasing poverty.

    Ghana needs sustained and resilient economic transformation that ensures the lives our people continue to improve.

    Faster progress on transformation not only will strengthen our economy but also help us better survive shocks, like inflation, rising energy costs and the rapid depreciation of the cedi and more quickly lift our most vulnerable brothers and sisters out of destitution.

    Many countries around the world have successfully traveled the road to transformation. Each country is different, but there are lessons and best practices to follow on our journey. And it all starts with having a plan.

    To build the Ghana we want, we need to focus our energies on a number of critical areas and set a unified vision with clear and measurable targets and goals — a national consensus on what to do to turn the tide and address the challenges facing us.

    This means, among other things that we need to diversify our industries to be more competitive in global markets; increase productivity, especially of our human resources; and advance technology and innovation — all to improve the well-being of our citizens. For instance, we can increase the capacity of local SMEs so they become investment ready and are able to utilize technology for increased productivity and competitiveness on global markets.

    This vision will require the agreement and collaboration of all citizens especially the youth, political, traditional, and religious leaders, prominent community organizations, and technical policy experts. It will be our north star for our transformation agenda and for our democracy. We need to act as citizens and not spectators — citizens with a vested interest in building a Ghana we can all be proud of.

    Kwame Nkrumah told us: “We have a duty to prove to the world that Africans can conduct their own affairs with efficiency and tolerance and through the exercise of democracy. We must set an example to all Africa.”

    During these challenging times in Ghana and around the world, it is past time for us to live up to that duty and set that example once more. The good news is the work has already begun. A few months ago, a group of Ghanaians representing a cross-section of our society came together at Peduase to define what we can do together to chart a path for Ghana’s future. The youngest person in the group was only 13 years old, and the oldest was older than I am. The group included leaders from policy institutes, media, civil society, and business, and brought viewpoints from every angle to enrich and improve our approach. Most importantly, their political affiliations spanned most of the parties in Ghana.

    Together, we are collaborating to develop what we call a Compact for Political and Economic  transformation in Ghana. The Compact: will be an agreement between citizens and government, regardless of who is in power, on the direction of travel for our country, and on the vision and values that underpin our democracy and pave the way toward the Ghana we want. It will also be a Compact between all of us as citizens on the values we want to uphold as a nation as we embark on this new agenda.

    Agreeing on a common vision and a roadmap for Ghana will help make our elections more about the issues and less about the politics. It will help our governments focus on national interest over party interest. And importantly, it will help us as citizens hold our elected officials accountable and take more responsibility for driving the agenda for our country.

    What we are starting now will need the commitment of all Ghanaians, regardless of background, religion, political party affiliation, age, or gender. We have an opportunity today to begin a journey toward a better future, and I hope you will all join us.

    My journey will one day come to an end, and the future belongs to my children and grandchildren. And your children and grandchildren. What kind of future will they have? What legacy will we leave them? We all appreciate the challenges that still exist. Let us now work together to turn our fortunes around and strive for the aspirations that nearly all of us have, for the Ghana we want — for ourselves and future generations.

    For the past fifty years, Dr K.Y. Amoako has spearheaded many of the issues and policies central to Africa’s development. A pioneer and passionate advocate for African transformation, he has worked alongside African leaders and some of the world’s most prominent development specialists to tackle many of the most pressing African and global development issues. Previously, Amoako served as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa at the rank of UN Undersecretary General. Before then he was a senior official at the World Bank.

  • Equatorial Guinea: Incumbent president takes lead in election

    Equatorial Guinea’s President has taken the lead in Sunday’s presidential election.

    The Interior Minister unveiled the provisional results Monday (Nov 21).

    In this race for a sixth seven-year term, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has so far obtained 44.2 % of the votes cast in nearly half of the country’s polling stations.

     

    He is Africa’s longest-serving president and the world longest serving head of state today except for monarchs.

    His contenders Andrés Esono Ondo of the CPDS party and former ally Buenaventura Monsuy Asumu of the PCSD each got 1.34% and 0.35% of the vote.

    The final results of the one-round election will be announced on November 26.

    Obiang’s ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) holds 99 of the 100 seats in the outgoing National Assembly and all 55 seats in the Senate, which are also up for re-election. Sunday’s polls included municipal elections.

    Over 400,000 people registered to vote in the country of about 1.5 million.

    Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo aged 80 took the reins of the country in a coup in 1979.

     

    Source: African News

  • You’re a majority leader, not a majority messenger – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu told

    Dr. Amoako Baah, a senior member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has chastised the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, for his handling of the call for the resignation of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta by some members of his caucus.

    According to Dr. Baah, because the NPP MPs calling for Ofori-Atta’s removal form the Majority of the party’s parliamentary caucus, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu should be the one leading the charge.

    Dr. Baah, a retired political science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNSUT), added that the majority leader cannot stand in the middle and just inform President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the demands of his members.

    “…I have been saying that Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is not performing his duties as majority leader well. If you are a majority leader and your members are agitating about an issue, you must first engage them, and if what they are saying is true, you have to join them.

    “So that if you lead them to the president, you will be there as part of them, not just their speaker or messenger. That is why you’re called the majority leader and not the majority messenger.

    “You go to the president and you tell him that they said they don’t agree with you. Is this what you are supposed to do? Why are you their leader? Can’t they (the MPs) speak for themselves?” he said.

    Dr. Baah also claimed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo lost it when the majority leader informed him of some NPP MPs’ demand that Ofori-Atta be relieved of his duties, questioning whether they were aware of the role Data Bank, the finance minister’s bank, played in financing his presidential campaign.

    Meanwhile, the number of NPP MPs calling for the sacking of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has increased to 98 from the initial 80.

    The 80 MPs had earlier made calls for the dismissal of Ken Ofori-Atta and the Minister of State for Finance, Charles Adu Boahen.

    The MPs later backed down following a meeting with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who asked that the minister be given time to conclude Ghana’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund as well as the presentation of the 2023 budget in parliament.

    However, in an interview with Joy News, the 80 MPs’ spokesperson, Andy Appiah-Kubi, stated that the group is returning to their original demand for the finance minister’s removal.

    According to the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, their renewed demand, with the support of 18 other members of their caucus, is because the minister’s position is now untenable.

    He added that the anti-Ofori-Atta MPs will boycott the budget presentation if he is allowed to come to parliament to present the budget.

  • Akufo-Addo longs to be like Nkrumah – Dr Amoako Baah

    Dr Amoako Baah, a leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has stated that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is unconcerned about the difficulties Ghanaians are facing.

    Speaking in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr Baah said that all the president cares about is the pageantry that comes with the presidency.

    Dr Baah, who was reacting to viral pictures of the president with the British monarch, King Charles III during his private visit to the UK, said that Akufo-Addo only wants to be like Ghana’s first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

    “This is what he (Akufo-Addo) likes (meeting powerful people). He is called Nana Show boy. He likes beautiful things. He wants to be a statesman.

    “In spite of the fact that Nkrumah was the one who locked up his grandfather, he really likes him (Nkrumah). And so, he wants to be like Nkrumah in everything he does. He wants to be like a stateman; standing in front of people and giving speeches and so on, that is what he likes to do,” he said in Twi.

    “The thing is that Nana Addo does not have the genes of the NPP in him… Because why will someone like a person who locked up his grandfather which led to his death?

    “He (Akufo-Addo) does not have a good character. His grandfather died bitterly at the hands of Nkrumah but that does not disturb him. He only wants to be a show boy just as Nkrumah was,” he added.

     

  • Economic hardship has affected how much people pay for offering – Mahama

    Former President John Dramani Mahama has said that the current economic hardship in Ghana has taken a toll on offerings to God.

    According to him, followers of Christ are unable to give huge offerings in the church due to economic hardship, which has affected the pockets of Ghanaians.

    He was speaking at the 175th-anniversary thanksgiving service of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Ho.

    “We must always spread Christian love, especially in this time, when money doesn’t like noise. Especially at this time when we all agree that times are hard. This is the time we must show our Christian charity by loving our neighbours as ourselves.

    “And so whatever little you have to share, you should share with your neighbour. I mean we could tell the hardship in the system from the appeal for funds.

    “When it was ¢2000, madam chair and a few people came and donated, then it came down to ¢1000, then to ¢500, then to ¢200 and ¢100. And when it got to the silver collection, ¢1, ¢2, the place was full, it shows that the pocket was not too good”, he stated.

    Mr Mahama, therefore, appealed to Christians to pray for him and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to win the 2024 general elections.

    This he said would enable him and his party to rescue Ghana from the current economic hardship, rising inflation and suffering.

    “After we pray for Pakistan, Moderator should also say a special prayer for me and for the NDC so that in some year that is just coming, luck will smile on us, God will smile on us and give us the power to come and rescue this country from the suffering we are going through,” he said.

    Mr Mahama lauded the efforts of the E.P Church, Ghana, to the development of the country, especially in the education and health sectors.

    The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Rt. Okay Rev Dr Lt. Col. Bliss Divine Agbeko (Rtd), advised Christians to remain righteous followers of Christ and persevere to the very end.

    He also implored persons in leadership positions to eschew corruption to earn a place in paradise adding the church would continue to shepherd its congregation for the common good of humanity.

     

  • I pray to God to be Ghanaian in my next life – Anyidoho reacts to ‘Sika Mpɛ Dede’ music

    Former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho, has praised Ghanaians for their high sense of humour despite the current economic condition in the country.

    Anyidoho, who was reacting to a video of some market women dancing to music composed from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s famous quotes during his recent address to the nation, “Sika Mp Dede,” said that one of the reasons he loves Ghana is its humour.

    In a tweet shared on Friday, November 18, 2022, the former NDC deputy general secretary added that it is his wish that he will be Ghanaian again in the next world.

    “I’ve not stopped laughing since I saw this of Ghana. I can’t stop loving Ghana because of our great sense of humor. I pray to God that in the next world I will still be a Ghanaian,” parts of the tweet read.

    The woman singing the ‘Sika Mpɛ Dede’ song was skilfully using previous pronouncements made by both Akufo-Addo and ex-President John Dramani Mahama to give hope to Ghanaians.

    Market women and other persons passing by could not help but joyfully dance to the music.

    President Akufo-Addo came under some criticism when he said the speculation was Ghanaians is the main reason for the depreciation of Ghana’s currency (the Ghana Cedi); saying ‘Sika Mpɛ Dede’ literally translates: money does not like noise.

     

  • You’re entitled to your judgement – Kweku Baako to disappointed patrons of Anas exposé

    Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, mentor and Godfather of investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has responded to news of patrons being disappointed after viewing the latest undercover investigative piece of Anas Aremeyaw Anas. Mr Baako is of the view that they’re entitled to their judgement of the work.

    He added that despite their disappointment, the President has taken action in the aftermath of the investigation by firing the implicated Minister of State in Charge of Finance Charles Adu Boahen and referring him to the special prosecutor for investigations.

    “Patrons are entitled to their judgment! The outcome is that the President who’s an experienced lawyer has terminated an appointment and made a referral to the OSP. And Tiger Eye is prepared to help the investigations with further and better particulars! For God and Country, we move forward!,” Mr Baako wrote.

    Many who thought the investigative piece was going to be explosive have been left disappointed after viewing the documentary dubbed Galamsey Economy -Ahmed Last Investigation. Some contend that the nature of the exposé did not meet their expectations given that it was just a repeat of someone engaged in influence peddling and receiving a gift.

    But Mr Baako has defended the piece, insisting that the outcome is good enough .

  • Botched Tema Gas deal can cause $1.5 billion loss to Ghana

    Ghana’s President, Akufo-Addo, has been working with other African presidents during this year’s United Nations (UNFCCC) 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) in Egypt to pressure rich countries that pollute the most to release the $100 billion in climate finance promised to poor countries to help them green their economies and better adapt to climate change.

    However, the emphasis on a quick delivery of billions of dollars to African economies raises concerns about accountability, transparency, and the standard of governance, both as support for helping Africa adapt to the unavoidable effects of climate change and as reparations for loss and harm.
    In the past, substantial amounts of funding for development in Africa have been squandered due to mismanagement, bad policy design, and corruption.
    How can we keep the nascent field of “climate finance” from falling victim to outdated prejudices?

    Furthermore, African leaders are also busily using the climate talks to convince rich nations to continue investing in the continent’s fossil fuels, which they see as necessary to expand economies and boost electricity access. However, decades of investment in oil and gas have generally failed to deliver cheap and reliable electricity supply to Africa’s poorest consumers due to poor strategic choices, policy incoherence and outright corruption.

    To probe these challenges, confusions and contradictions, a group of African think tanks and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) convened by the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) and the IMANI Center for Policy & Education (IMANI) held deliberations on the virtual sidelines of COP 27 on 9th November 2022. At the event, the partners launched a series of case studies intending to show how corruption, mismanagement and onerous offtake terms, have blunted the strategic flexibility of African governments by saddling them with mounting debts and poor response choices, in a time when rising energy costs are fuelling a cost of living crisis across the continent.

    The first case study is presented in this short brief. It looks at Tema LNG Terminal (Tema LNG), a project led by Helios Investment Partners to import LNG into Ghana, supported by multiple development finance institutions.

    The project was expected to start operations in 2020 but as at November 2022, it is still not online. Ghana’s national oil company, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), is committed to pursuing the project, despite officials admitting there is no demand for the gas. There are now serious doubts about the feasibility of the project even in 2023, or ever.

    Tema LNG poses a major risk to the already strained finances of GNPC. Calculations by ACEP and IMANI suggest GNPC could be paying between $790 million – $1.357 billion a year (based on average 2022 Brent crude prices) for gas the country doesn’t need.

    Whilst GNPC has contracted gas from the Tema LNG Terminal Company (TLTC) at more than $13/MMBtu in the current oil price environment, it is bound by regulation to on-sell the gas at $5.99/MMbtu to most power utilities in Ghana. Prices are even lower for opaquely-selected “strategic industries,” which pay just $4.2/MMBTU for the gas. GNPC has even signed a contract to sell gas for as low as $2.79/MMBtu to Genser Energy Limited, an off-grid power supplier to Ghanaian gold mines, with plans for a further reduction to $1.72/MMBTU, on dubious pipeline-barter grounds.

    Moreover, origins of the Tema LNG project in perverse bid-rigging and attendant procurement irregularities have heightened the corruption risk associated with the project.

    Tema LNG is just one example of how mismanaged investments in gas and power capital projects in Ghana are financially crippling the country and failing to deliver affordable or reliable energy to consumers. Ghana’s power sector arrears, already in the billions of dollars, continue to mount. In November 2020, the ex-head of Ghana’s Energy Commission estimated that the country was paying a combined $1.2bn annually for excess power capacity and gas supply it does not use.

    These costly investments in oil and gas have been backed by the international community. Development finance institutions have spent at least US$2.8bn in direct project finance to support the development of upstream and downstream fossil fuel projects in Ghana since 2010. Meanwhile, Ghana’s vast renewable energy potential has generally been overlooked.

    Ghana’s modern renewable generation capacity remains negligible, at less than 1% in 2020. This is despite renewable energy sources, such as solar, now being the cheapest form of energy in many parts of Africa, according to the International Energy Agency. Solar and similar renewable energy sources are in fact set to outcompete all other sources continent-wide by 2030.

    In light of all the above, the Alliance of policy think tanks advocating for good governance to drive green growth in Africa proposes the following:

    1. A public release of all contracts, agreements, restated/amended agreements and constructive understandings entered into by GNPC, TLTC and all other actors connected in any commercial sense to the Tema LNG project.
    2. An immediate suspension of the Tema LNG project and a standstill arrangement in respect of all obligations of the Ghanaian state concerning the project.
    3. A complete renegotiation of the financial and commercial terms of the project to better reflect the current strategic situation in the global and domestic energy markets.
    4. A halt to further funding and financing for the project, particularly from DFIs, MDBs and international development agencies until a sound ESG framework is in place.
    5. An upgrade to the governance of the project and others like it by instituting a credible stakeholder participatory model and set of consultative practices.

  • We are prolonging the inevitable – Prof. Agyeman-Duah on censure hearing

    Former United Nations Senior Governance Advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, says he is hoping that in the coming days, the Finance Minister would quietly resign from his position or the President would terminate his appointment.

    According to him, their refusal to do so could possibly lead the country into a constitutional crisis which could further exacerbate the economic crisis the country is going through.

    Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is currently facing a vote of censure motion filed against him by the Minority side in Parliament over accusations of corruption and gross incompetence.

    The Speaker of Parliament has constituted an eight member committee to probe the accusations leveled against the Minister and provide a detailed report within seven days.

    Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Prof. Agyeman-Duah noted that should the ongoing stalemate happening in Ghana’s Parliament over the vote of censure continue, it may negatively affect the country’s financial relations with the outside world.

    “Well my hope is that we will not get there. What I expect to happen in the coming days or weeks is perhaps the Finance Minister taking himself out of this dilemma, or the President just announcing that he’s displacing the Finance Minister because it will just be tragic for these two individuals to lead the country into such a constitutional jam. We don’t want that.

    “We all know the difficulties we face, and in fact what we’re not even thinking about is the very negative impact of this crisis, or this stalemate I should say on our international partners and our financial relations with the outside world. Somewhere else our market would have plummeted further.

    “So in fact we are doing ourselves a lot of ill if in fact the President and the Finance Minister continue to be intransigent on this matter and not to appropriately respond to the ground swell of public demand for the displacement of the Finance Minister,” he said.

    Prof. Agyeman-Duah who has described the formation of the eight member committee as a face-saving measure by the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, to pacify both factions of the House, says the entire hearing process is unnecessary.

    According to him, no matter the path taken, it will still end with the Finance Minister getting censured.

    “I think we’ve come to a point where this matter should be resolved. It’s not necessary to go through this whole process. And I do agree with Amoako Baah and the others that look, this matter should have been settled right on the floor of Parliament. All this process of committee and… I don’t think it’s necessary. We are prolonging something that is inevitable,” he said.

  • Family confirms arrest of woman who wished Akufo-Addo dead

    The family of a woman in her 40s reported to have been arrested for wishing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dead in a viral video has confirmed the arrest.

    A family member who spoke to GhanaWeb said that her relative is currently being held by the police at the headquarters of the Ghana Police Service.

    The relative indicated that the name of the woman who has been arrested is Salamatu Mohammed, a mother of four who stays at Nyamekye Ward in the Ablekuma North Constituency.

    She added that the police have not given them any reason as to why they arrested Salamatu and have also not told her family of the crime she is accused of.

    “We are waiting on our lawyer. We have not heard anything from them (the police),” she said.

    GhanaWeb’s earlier report indicated that Salamatu Mohammed was arrested for wishing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dead in a viral video.

    In the said viral video, which was sighted by GhanaWeb, the woman, who was berating the president for the current economic conditions in the country, questioned why witches and ritualists from the northern parts of Ghana have not killed the president yet.

    “Akufo-Addo we are begging you in the name of God, we cannot even afford pots to cook our food. Do you want us to use your head to cook?

    “Now the price of an aluminium cooking pot has increased from 6 million (GH¢ 600) to 12 million (GH¢1200). Why?

    “God will punish you. The witches in Ghana and the ritualist from the north can’t you kill this man… I have four children; do you know the feeding fees I pay? Do you know the feeding fee, I am going to pay today… Idiot,” she said in Twi.

  • Woman reportedly arrested for wishing Akufo-Addo dead

    A woman in her 40s has reportedly been arrested for wishing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dead in a viral video.

    A source close to GhanaWeb indicated that the woman, who is from the Ablekuma North Constituency in Accra, is currently being held at the Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service.

    In the said viral video, which was sighted by GhanaWeb, the woman, who was berating the president for the current economic conditions in the country, questioned why witches and ritualists from the northern parts of Ghana have not killed the president yet.

    “Akufo-Addo, we are begging you in the name of God; we cannot even afford pots to cook our food. Do you want us to use your head to cook?

    “Now the price of an aluminium cooking pot has increased from 6 million (GHC 600) to 12 million (GHC 1200). Why?

    “God will punish you. Can’t you kill this man, Ghanaian witches and northern ritualists?I have four children; do you know the feeding fees I pay? Do you know the feeding fee, I am going to pay today… Idiot,” she said in Twi.

  • Akufo-Addo should be the one to be sacked not Ofori-Atta – Amoako Baah

    A leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Richard Amoako Baah has said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo deserves to be sacked not the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

    According to him, Mr Ofori-Atta cannot be faulted for running the economy down because it is the president who looked on for the economy to take a nose dive.

    The former political science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) made the call for the president to be sacked while speaking in an interview with the sit-in host of the Ghana Yensom morning show, Nana Otu Darko, on Accra 100.5 FM on Wednesday, November 16, 2022.

    He said the president cannot be exonerated from the gross mismanagement of the economy by the finance minister.

    He alleged the president and his finance minister benefit from the huge borrowings in the name of bonds.

    He said all the finance minister did, he did in the name of the president and with the approval of the president.

    “The president cannot turn around to tell Ghanaians he did not see what the finance minister was doing with the management of the economy,” he stressed.

    He further alleged that when the president met with the Majority of NPP Members of Parliament pushing for the removal of the finance minister, he threatened to ensure they all lose their primary if they did not back down on their call.

    He said: “The president [asked] them where they were when the finance minister was using his Databank to finance his campaigns.”

    For these reasons, he said the President deserves to be fired.

     

  • Apologise to the Vice President – Anlo NPP youth to Spokesperson of Awoamefiafh

    Some members of the NPP in Anloland asked the Spokesperson of the Awoamefia, Agbotuada Kumasah, to render an unqualified apology to Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, over his comments in regards to the booing of the Vice President at the just-ended Hogbetsotso durbar.

    According to the youth, the comments suggest that there was a deliberate attempt to embarrass the vice president.

    “Such comments from no less a person than Agbotadua Kumasah, made it look like the Vice President was deliberately invited by the Anlo state to be disgraced,” the group said in a letter signed by the convener, Augustine Ocloo.

    The statement also added claims that the vice president was booed for touting achievements that were untrue as there have been developmental activities in the Anlo-land since the NPP assumed office.

    “Agbotadua Kumasah cannot be too naive not to have seen the developmental activities that this government had undertaken in Anlo-land, a government Agbotadua Kumasah is an appointee for in the Keta Municipal assembly.

    “We, the disgruntled NPP youth of Anloland, cannot stand aloof while this disgraceful, uncalled for, uncultured, and developmentally crippling behaviour goes unanswered.”

    The youth thus urged the President of the Anlo Traditional Council to take disciplinary action against Kumasah.

    “The Anlo Traditional/State Council should explain to we the youth why they allowed members of the Hogbetsotso planning committee to set and lay the Vice President such ambush.

    “We also demand that disciplinary action be taken against Agbotaduah Kumassah for displaying such infantile attitude when he was rather expected to use the fine opportunity to emphasize the positives of the celebration,” myjoyonline.com quoted.

  • Why is Akufo-Addo not seeing the bigger picture? – Dr. Pumpuni Asante

    President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo waits to speak during the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021.

    Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at the Centre for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana), Dr. Kojo Pumpuni Asante, has bemoaned President Akufo-Addo’s refusal to remove his Finance Minister.

    According to him, had the President heeded to calls for a Ministerial reshuffle or simply gone ahead to remove the Finance Minister, Parliament would not be locked up in a censure motion proceeding; further derailing the business of government.

    He stated that the country is in a crucial situation where a Finance Minister is expected to be drawing a budget while leading the Ghana team in the IMF negotiations, however, currently all of that has been put on hold while the incumbent Minister is being ‘tried’ by an ad hoc committee.

    The Minority in Parliament has filed a motion of censure against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, accusing him of corruption and gross incompetence.

    In proceedings currently ongoing in Parliament, the Finance Minister is expected to answer to these charges before an eight member ad hoc committee evenly constituted by members from both sides of the political divide.

    With both sides polarized on the matter, Dr. Kojo Pumpuni has noted that such polarization is not what a country in crisis needs to resolve its issues.

    “I don’t understand why the President has ground his teeth on this matter. Because now we’re in a process, the Finance Minister was supposed to go and present the budget next week. Now the Finance Minister is spending his time in a court room trying to respond to charges against him and so on and so forth when he should be, if indeed he’s the one preparing this budget for our consideration, he should be doing that work.

    “Some of these steps should have been taken by the President a long time ago and I don’t know why he’s not seeing the bigger picture that we’re going to diffuse a lot of the tension. Because in a country where you have crisis, the last thing you need is more polarization and more time spent on this kind of actions rather than focus on the business of actually dealing with the problems that Ghanaians are facing,” he said.

  • Galamsey going on in two forest reserves in my area – Chief of Tufo

    The Chief of Dompim Pepesa Tufo, a suburb of Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality, Tufohene Nana Awuah Koanpong VII, has claimed that at least two of the forest reserves in his area are being used for illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).

    According to him, his attempts to stop the menace have endangered his life as well as the lives of the people with whom he is fighting the galamseyers.

    Nana Koanpong called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to support his efforts by deploying some law enforcement personnel to his community to help him stop the illegal miners.

    “There is active galamsey going on in my area. There are five communities under Dompim. We have Bonsa, we have Biponekyei, and we also have Trebou. The galamsey is very prevalent in Bonsa and Trebou. Bonsa and Trebou have thick forests, and that is where the galamsey is taking place.

    “When you are going to the forest at Trebou, you will see a community mining sign post, and we have President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, and the Deputy Minister of Lands, Mireku Duker, on the post.

    “The ironic thing is that there is no land for this community mining in Trebou aside from the forest… there is another post there that says that this forest is not part of areas for community mining. But that is where the galamsey is taking place,” he said in Twi.

    The Tufohene further stated that a community task force, he set up to fight the galamseyers were once stripped naked by people in military uniforms who were guiding the mines.

    He added that if the government is serious about fighting galamsey it should come to his aid with the need force to stop it in his area.

     

  • Today in History: Corruption fight: Mahama’s worse performance is Akufo-Addo’s best – Report

    Ghanaians have pleaded with numerous governments to fight corruption ever since the country’s independence.

    Reports from the previous two years, however, suggested that Ghana’s corruption perception score did not change during the previous year.

    To help readers understand how the country performed on the index during the previous government and the current government, GhanaWeb examined Ghana’s performance on the CPI over the last 10 years in this article.

    GhanaWeb Feature

    Transparency International recently released the global 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) with Ghana scoring 43 out of 100.

    Ghana’s performance was the same as last year and this has led to the worrying question of whether or not Ghana’s corruption fight is dwindling.

    This is even more concerning considering the current government’s promise to be resolute about fighting corruption to the core.

    The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) said the score of 43 by Ghana indicates the country did not make progress in its fight against corruption in 2021 as the score remains in 2022.

    GhanaWeb takes a look at Ghana’s performance on the CPI over the past 10 years to give readers an understanding of the country’s performance on the index under the past government and the ruling government.

    Corruption under Mahama:

    First let us take a look at the performance of Ghana before President Akufo-Addo was sworn into power in 2017. Data from the Transparency international indicates that Ghana scored;

    45 in 2012

    46 in 2013

    48 in 2014

    There was a drop in 2015 by a point -47 in 2015 and then just before the then President, John Mahama handed over power to the new government, the country’s score on the corruption perception index had dropped by 4 points to 43 in 2016 – which means there was higher corruption recorded in the last year of the reign of the NDC administration under Mahama.

    In terms of ranks on the CPI, Ghana was ranked the 64th the least corrupt country out of 180 countries in 2012, then it ranked 63rd in 2013, 61st in 2014, 56th in 2015 and 70th in 2016.

    Corruption under Akufo-Addo:

    Having promised to rid the country of the persisting canker of corruption, Ghana scored 40 over 100 in its first year under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017.

    This increased by a point to 41 in 2018
    And for the next year, this figure was retained when Ghana scored – 41 in 2019. This number rose by 2 more points in 2020 to become 43 but government failed to increase this score in 2021.

    During the term of President Akufo-Addo, Ghana ranked 81st in 2017, 78th in 2018, 80th in 2019, 75th in 2020, and 73rd least corrupt country in 2021.

    Where does Ghana stand?

    From these figures for the past five years, it could be said that Ghana has not made progress in the fight against corruption. The government inherited an index of 43 and it still scoring 43 which is even an improvement on its previous scores.

    According to Transparency International, Ghana’s best performance on the CPI was in 2014 when it scored 48.

    The corruption index is measured from 0 to 100. The higher the score of a country the less corrupt it is perceived to be. Countries that score below 50 are perceived to be more corrupt.

    Whilst the government insists it has made significant progress in the fight against corruption, very little has been seen as being done by the Special Prosecutor’s office which was established in the first year of his term as president.

    The Deputy Information Minister Fatimatu Abubakar, in an interview on Asaase News said Ghana has been making progress on the index since 2017 when it scored 40 out of 100 on the CPI.

    “But let us establish the fact that what this government inherited in 2017 was an average of 40, and the measurement is such that the lower you score, the more corrupt you are… so if you look at the trends from 2017, you will realise that no matter how small the figure is, Ghana has been stepping up, from 2017 to 2018 we were up from 40 to 41 and then in 2020 we moved a notch higher,” she was quoted by asaaseradio.

    But do the current figures reflect this assertion?

    Meanwhile, Transparency International indicates from its findings that Ghana’s best performance was in 2015 when it ranked 56th out of the 180 countries. This means that in the past 9 years, the John Mahama administration recorded the best records as far as the fight against corruption was concerned.

    Author: Ishmael Batoma

    GhanaWeb Feature

    Transparency International recently released the global 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) with Ghana scoring 43 out of 100.

    Ghana’s performance was the same as last year and this has led to the worrying question of whether or not Ghana’s corruption fight is dwindling.

    This is even more concerning considering the current government’s promise to be resolute about fighting corruption to the core.

    The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) said the score of 43 by Ghana indicates the country did not make progress in its fight against corruption in 2021 as the score remains in 2022.

    GhanaWeb takes a look at Ghana’s performance on the CPI over the past 10 years to give readers an understanding of the country’s performance on the index under the past government and the ruling government.

    Corruption under Mahama:

    First let us take a look at the performance of Ghana before President Akufo-Addo was sworn into power in 2017. Data from the Transparency international indicates that Ghana scored;

    45 in 2012

    46 in 2013

    48 in 2014

    There was a drop in 2015 by a point -47 in 2015 and then just before the then President, John Mahama handed over power to the new government, the country’s score on the corruption perception index had dropped by 4 points to 43 in 2016 – which means there was higher corruption recorded in the last year of the reign of the NDC administration under Mahama.

    In terms of ranks on the CPI, Ghana was ranked the 64th the least corrupt country out of 180 countries in 2012, then it ranked 63rd in 2013, 61st in 2014, 56th in 2015 and 70th in 2016.

    Corruption under Akufo-Addo:

    Having promised to rid the country of the persisting canker of corruption, Ghana scored 40 over 100 in its first year under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017.

    This increased by a point to 41 in 2018
    And for the next year, this figure was retained when Ghana scored – 41 in 2019. This number rose by 2 more points in 2020 to become 43 but government failed to increase this score in 2021.

    During the term of President Akufo-Addo, Ghana ranked 81st in 2017, 78th in 2018, 80th in 2019, 75th in 2020, and 73rd least corrupt country in 2021.

    Where does Ghana stand?

    From these figures for the past five years, it could be said that Ghana has not made progress in the fight against corruption. The government inherited an index of 43 and it still scoring 43 which is even an improvement on its previous scores.

    According to Transparency International, Ghana’s best performance on the CPI was in 2014 when it scored 48.

    The corruption index is measured from 0 to 100. The higher the score of a country the less corrupt it is perceived to be. Countries that score below 50 are perceived to be more corrupt.

    Whilst the government insists it has made significant progress in the fight against corruption, very little has been seen as being done by the Special Prosecutor’s office which was established in the first year of his term as president.

    The Deputy Information Minister Fatimatu Abubakar, in an interview on Asaase News said Ghana has been making progress on the index since 2017 when it scored 40 out of 100 on the CPI.

    “But let us establish the fact that what this government inherited in 2017 was an average of 40, and the measurement is such that the lower you score, the more corrupt you are… so if you look at the trends from 2017, you will realise that no matter how small the figure is, Ghana has been stepping up, from 2017 to 2018 we were up from 40 to 41 and then in 2020 we moved a notch higher,” she was quoted by asaaseradio.

    But do the current figures reflect this assertion?

    Meanwhile, Transparency International indicates from its findings that Ghana’s best performance was in 2015 when it ranked 56th out of the 180 countries. This means that in the past 9 years, the John Mahama administration recorded the best records as far as the fight against corruption was concerned.

    Author: Ishmael Batoma

    GhanaWeb Feature

    Transparency International recently released the global 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) with Ghana scoring 43 out of 100.

    Ghana’s performance was the same as last year and this has led to the worrying question of whether or not Ghana’s corruption fight is dwindling.

    This is even more concerning considering the current government’s promise to be resolute about fighting corruption to the core.

    The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) said the score of 43 by Ghana indicates the country did not make progress in its fight against corruption in 2021 as the score remains in 2022.

    GhanaWeb takes a look at Ghana’s performance on the CPI over the past 10 years to give readers an understanding of the country’s performance on the index under the past government and the ruling government.

    Corruption under Mahama:

    First let us take a look at the performance of Ghana before President Akufo-Addo was sworn into power in 2017. Data from the Transparency international indicates that Ghana scored;

    45 in 2012

    46 in 2013

    48 in 2014

    There was a drop in 2015 by a point -47 in 2015 and then just before the then President, John Mahama handed over power to the new government, the country’s score on the corruption perception index had dropped by 4 points to 43 in 2016 – which means there was higher corruption recorded in the last year of the reign of the NDC administration under Mahama.

    In terms of ranks on the CPI, Ghana was ranked the 64th the least corrupt country out of 180 countries in 2012, then it ranked 63rd in 2013, 61st in 2014, 56th in 2015 and 70th in 2016.

    Corruption under Akufo-Addo:

    Having promised to rid the country of the persisting canker of corruption, Ghana scored 40 over 100 in its first year under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017.

    This increased by a point to 41 in 2018
    And for the next year, this figure was retained when Ghana scored – 41 in 2019. This number rose by 2 more points in 2020 to become 43 but government failed to increase this score in 2021.

    During the term of President Akufo-Addo, Ghana ranked 81st in 2017, 78th in 2018, 80th in 2019, 75th in 2020, and 73rd least corrupt country in 2021.

    Where does Ghana stand?

    From these figures for the past five years, it could be said that Ghana has not made progress in the fight against corruption. The government inherited an index of 43 and it still scoring 43 which is even an improvement on its previous scores.

    According to Transparency International, Ghana’s best performance on the CPI was in 2014 when it scored 48.

    The corruption index is measured from 0 to 100. The higher the score of a country the less corrupt it is perceived to be. Countries that score below 50 are perceived to be more corrupt.

    Whilst the government insists it has made significant progress in the fight against corruption, very little has been seen as being done by the Special Prosecutor’s office which was established in the first year of his term as president.

    The Deputy Information Minister Fatimatu Abubakar, in an interview on Asaase News said Ghana has been making progress on the index since 2017 when it scored 40 out of 100 on the CPI.

    “But let us establish the fact that what this government inherited in 2017 was an average of 40, and the measurement is such that the lower you score, the more corrupt you are… so if you look at the trends from 2017, you will realise that no matter how small the figure is, Ghana has been stepping up, from 2017 to 2018 we were up from 40 to 41 and then in 2020 we moved a notch higher,” she was quoted by asaaseradio.

    But do the current figures reflect this assertion?

    Meanwhile, Transparency International indicates from its findings that Ghana’s best performance was in 2015 when it ranked 56th out of the 180 countries. This means that in the past 9 years, the John Mahama administration recorded the best records as far as the fight against corruption was concerned.

    Author: Ishmael Batoma

    GhanaWeb Feature

    Transparency International recently released the global 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) with Ghana scoring 43 out of 100.

    Ghana’s performance was the same as last year and this has led to the worrying question of whether or not Ghana’s corruption fight is dwindling.

    This is even more concerning considering the current government’s promise to be resolute about fighting corruption to the core.

    The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) said the score of 43 by Ghana indicates the country did not make progress in its fight against corruption in 2021 as the score remains in 2022.

    GhanaWeb takes a look at Ghana’s performance on the CPI over the past 10 years to give readers an understanding of the country’s performance on the index under the past government and the ruling government.

    Corruption under Mahama:

    First let us take a look at the performance of Ghana before President Akufo-Addo was sworn into power in 2017. Data from the Transparency international indicates that Ghana scored;

    45 in 2012

    46 in 2013

    48 in 2014

    There was a drop in 2015 by a point -47 in 2015 and then just before the then President, John Mahama handed over power to the new government, the country’s score on the corruption perception index had dropped by 4 points to 43 in 2016 – which means there was higher corruption recorded in the last year of the reign of the NDC administration under Mahama.

    In terms of ranks on the CPI, Ghana was ranked the 64th the least corrupt country out of 180 countries in 2012, then it ranked 63rd in 2013, 61st in 2014, 56th in 2015 and 70th in 2016.

    Corruption under Akufo-Addo:

    Having promised to rid the country of the persisting canker of corruption, Ghana scored 40 over 100 in its first year under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017.

    This increased by a point to 41 in 2018
    And for the next year, this figure was retained when Ghana scored – 41 in 2019. This number rose by 2 more points in 2020 to become 43 but government failed to increase this score in 2021.

    During the term of President Akufo-Addo, Ghana ranked 81st in 2017, 78th in 2018, 80th in 2019, 75th in 2020, and 73rd least corrupt country in 2021.

    Where does Ghana stand?

    From these figures for the past five years, it could be said that Ghana has not made progress in the fight against corruption. The government inherited an index of 43 and it still scoring 43 which is even an improvement on its previous scores.

    According to Transparency International, Ghana’s best performance on the CPI was in 2014 when it scored 48.

    The corruption index is measured from 0 to 100. The higher the score of a country the less corrupt it is perceived to be. Countries that score below 50 are perceived to be more corrupt.

    Whilst the government insists it has made significant progress in the fight against corruption, very little has been seen as being done by the Special Prosecutor’s office which was established in the first year of his term as president.

    The Deputy Information Minister Fatimatu Abubakar, in an interview on Asaase News said Ghana has been making progress on the index since 2017 when it scored 40 out of 100 on the CPI.

    “But let us establish the fact that what this government inherited in 2017 was an average of 40, and the measurement is such that the lower you score, the more corrupt you are… so if you look at the trends from 2017, you will realise that no matter how small the figure is, Ghana has been stepping up, from 2017 to 2018 we were up from 40 to 41 and then in 2020 we moved a notch higher,” she was quoted by asaaseradio.

    But do the current figures reflect this assertion?

    Meanwhile, Transparency International indicates from its findings that Ghana’s best performance was in 2015 when it ranked 56th out of the 180 countries. This means that in the past 9 years, the John Mahama administration recorded the best records as far as the fight against corruption was concerned.

    Author: Ishmael Batoma

  • Somebody called to enquire about ‘appearance fee’ to see Bawumia – Dr. Gideon Boako

    Dr. Gideon Boako, the spokesperson for the Vice President, has indicated that somebody contacted him earlier this year, claiming to be an investor and wanted to enquire about the ‘appearance fee’ to meet his boss, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

    According to him, he did not probe further to know the background of the investor “because it was of no interest to me.”

    Dr. Gideon Boako while speaking on Asempa FM’s ‘Ekosii Sen’ programme on Monday, November 14 stated that he spoke to the investor on phone.

    “The exact day, I may not be able to tell, but they contacted me this year, 2022. I laughed and asked, an appearance fee? Why? is it that Kotoko and Hearts of Oak are going to have a super clash,” he said while laughing.

    Dr Gideon Boako further stated that the supposed investor asked whether the ‘appearance fee’ is a norm, to which he replied, “no, that cannot happen. If that was the case, then I am not a poor man. I told them the Vice President as I know him, will never entertain such a thing. If you are his staff and entertain such a thing, you do that at your own risk.

    “I told them that well, I do not know that person, but I will say categorically that the person did that on his own behalf and not on behalf of the Vice President because as far as I know the Vice President, it will never happen.

    “I said to them that if the Vice President gets to know of that, he will recommend for the person to be questioned by the security agencies. It was only yesterday that Tiger Eye revealed the name of the person they were talking about,” Dr. Boako explained further.

    Charles Adu Boahen, the dismissed Minister of State in charge of Finance had earlier alleged that the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will require $200,000 as an appearance fee to meet prospective investors.

    This was revealed by Anas Aremeyaw Anas in his latest undercover documentary dubbed “Galamsey Economy”.

    The investigative journalist noted that Adu Boahen, in the undercover piece told his Tiger Eye PI team who posed as investors that Dr. Bawumia would also require some positions from the investor for his siblings to get his backing and influence in establishing a business in Ghana.

    But Dr. Bawumia in a statement on Monday, November 14, denied the accusations and called for an investigation into the allegations.

  • Moroccan Ambassador applauds GHAMOSA for promoting Ghana- Morocco relations

    The Moroccan Ambassador to Ghana, His excellency,  Imane  Ouadil has commended the President, Executives, and members of the Ghana Morocco Old students Association(GHAMOSA ) for using their knowledge and expertise to promote and strengthen the relationship between Ghana and Morocco.

    Speaking at the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Association in Accra on 11th November 2022,  she said the old students are one of the important investments of the Moroccan government in Ghana and investment in the future for the two countries and the African continent.

    She noted that the 10th anniversary of the Ghana Morocco old students  Association celebration which falls in November coincides with the celebration of two important dates for “ us Moroccans a few days ago the 6th of  November that celebrates the Green March and pays tribute to the many who devoted their lives to liberate our Sahara. I am happy to celebrate all three events with you all tonight”.

    She commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, and the King of Morocco, King Mohammed VI for working together to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. She also commended Ambassador Kwabena Anan former Ghana Ambassador to Morocco and Ambassador Tourougui, Former Morocco Ambassador to Ghana for their unflinching service to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

    According to her, there has been an increase in student mobility from African countries as a result of the good cooperation agreements. “Currently, Morocco hosts more than 18,000  students from 47 African countries, enrolled in different Moroccan higher education public institutions such as the faculties of medicine and pharmacy, dentistry, science and technology, engineering sciences, commerce, and management technology, and translation.” She stated.

    Ambassador Imane Ouadil noted that the influx of foreign students has been in the order of 4, 000 new students each year where Africans represent 63% of all entrants with the assumption of 95% as scholarship holders of the Moroccan government.

    “I, therefore, want to commend the tremendous work done by the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation. you all know AMCI and its Director  General, Ambassador  Mohammed Methqal, who are working to broaden the fields of cooperation between Morocco and its sister African countries towards order to increase the number and type of beneficiaries of international cooperation programmes in number and type . Thanks to these efforts we have managed since 2019 to educate an additional 20 Ghanaian students for vocational training”, she noted.

    “To underscore Morocco’s commitment to Africa and its youth, I quote  King Mohamed  VI ‘S  speech from the 29th  African Union  Summit in 2017 when  Morocco re-joined its institutional African Family. His Majesty said “the future of Africa depends on its youth; Africa’s young population underlines the urgency of orienting the demographic dividend towards the emergence of the continent. Africa, therefore, has an unexpected opportunity to benefit from a young, educated, and abundant workforce to fuel its economic growth”.

    “Indeed Africa cannot be seen as a mere pool of opportunities. Africa needs to create and seize its own opportunities and generate its own wealth.  I commend you, beneficiaries of Morocco government’s scholarship for stepping out of your comfort zone and moving to a new different country for years. While I hope the majority of your experience was enriching and exciting. I imagine there were also challenging days that made you nostalgic for home, for the nice Ghanaian dishes, yet you persevered. And when you returned to Ghana, you applied your experience in your respective fields to give back to your communities to make a difference” she said.

    “I want to announce that we are currently processing the admission files of 97 Ghanaian candidates. that I hope will in a few years come back to contribute to the development of Ghana and to swell your ranks “, she added.

    The event bought  together high-level dignitaries   like Honourable Stephen Yakubu, Upper West Regional Minister, Nii Kotey Amon II, Asere Dzaasetse of the Ga State, Hon Aliu Mahama, Member of Parliament for Yendi, representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Kwabena Anan  among others, Guineas Ambassador to Ghana

    In his presentation, the President of the Ghana Morocco Old Students Association, Peter Panyin Anamang, described the Ghana Morocco Old Students Association as a global coalition of young Ghanaian professionals trained in the Kingdom of Morocco and now integrated into various sectors of the Ghanaian economy and around the world.

    He said over the last decade, the Association has undertaken many impactful activities which include Educational Conferences, Business exhibitions and Networking forums, Sports and Networking Festivals, and many others. These activities he said were to further strengthen the already existing bond between Ghana and Morocco.

    He commended the king of Morocco, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and Former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who revived the Ghana – Morocco relations and paved the way for  Ghanaians to further their education in Morocco.

    I would like to use this opportunity to thank His Excellency Ambassador Kobina Annan, Former Ghana Ambassador to Morocco, and Mrs. Ekua Annan. They have shown great commitment and provided guidance, encouragement, and support through every stage of the formation of this Association.  On this special day, we say thank you!

    We would also like to say special thanks to Ambassador Tourougui, former Moroccan Ambassador to Ghana, their deputies, and the staff of the Embassy for their partnership, trust, and respect, and for making the Embassy our home. A very special thanks to CIMAF Ghana and OCP Ghana for the partnership.

  • Akufo-Addo avoided €20,000-an-hour luxury jets – Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been commended for avoiding his usual expensive luxury jets to fly commercially during his recent Ghana-Egypt-USA trip.

    According to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who has serially tracked presidential travels for the past two years, the president for the longest period avoided flying a €20,000-an-hour luxury jet.

    The North Tongu lawmaker indicated further that Akufo-Addo in his entire itinerary flew commercially until he arrived home on Friday, November 11, 2022, aboard British Airways.

    He is hopeful that since the country is seeking an IMF bailout, the president will continue flying commercially to save the Ghanaian taxpayer millions of cedis.

    “Since we started our unimpeachable tracking of President Akufo-Addo’s condemnable oligarchic travels some 2 years ago, this has been the longest period he’s avoided €20,000-an-hour luxury jets.

    “I can confirm that on his latest Ghana-Egypt-USA trip, the President flew commercial during his entire itinerary and returned Friday night (11/11/2022) aboard British Airways flight BA81 at 8:57 PM,” Samuel Okudzeto Ablakaw’s post on Sunday, November 13 read.

    “We all sincerely hope President Akufo-Addo will continue on this responsible path of saving the Ghanaian taxpayer millions of Cedis, especially when the IMF bailout arrives, he said.

    “We shall keep tracking, for God and Country. Ghana must be really broke,” Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stressed.

  • You’ll break the 8 for us to see – Countryman Songo to NPP

    Radio personality, Patrick Osei Agyemang known widely known as Countryman Songo has pooh-poohed the New Patriotic Party’s ‘break the 8’ agenda for the 2024 elections.

    Songo holds that the party will not be able to break the 8-year political cycle in the country due to some bad policies of the government.

    In a usual rant on his show, Songo fumed over certain developments in the country, particularly sports.

    He slammed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his infamous ‘sike mp3 dede rhetoric, claiming that the president is not perturbed because he is done with his term of office.

    “He is saying ‘sike mp3 dede’ because he knows he’s done with his 8 years. You claim you want to break the 8, do it and let’s see. They will break the eight for us to see. How can you sit in this country for people to fool us? They think we are foolish people so they don’t respect us” he said.

    Songo, like many Ghanaians is frustrated by the economic crisis which had led to a persistent rise in the prices of fuel and food commodities.

    Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta who is under pressure from both NPP and NDC MPs to resign has assured that measures are being instituted to revive the economy.

    Speaking at a meeting with the Association of Ghana Industries, Ken Ofori-Atta said Ghana remains the best destination to do business.

    “Let me assure you that you have a Finance Minister who has gone through all the pains and the aches, and nobody can really say we don’t understand what we are doing. The question is what resources do we have and how are we going to deploy them in the nation that we have and how do we stand firm in very difficult circumstances but being very confident?”

    “Let me assure you all that your best bet is still Ghana; we can do it, and we should do it,” the embattled Finance Minister said.

     

  • Kodua, others in parliament to ‘supervise’ NPP MPs conformity to ‘no vote of censure’ directive

    The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong, has been spotted in parliament as the house considers a motion by the Members of Parliament on the opposition side for the removal of Ken Ofori-Atta as the Minister of Finance.

    The National Democratic Congress MPs filed a motion in parliament on October 25, 2022, to be debated and voted on 14 days after its receipt by the Speaker of Parliament.

    Upon the maturity of the period, the house is considering the motion moved by the NDC MPs, and they have hoped that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs would support their call.

    This expectation is based on the fact that some weeks ago, some 80 NPP MPs took a historic stance when they called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to immediately sack Ken Ofori-Atta over his poor performance.

    The MPs stated in their press conference that should the president fail to do this, they would begin boycotting government business in the house, including the reading of the 2023 budget statement and economic policy.

    This call has since been placed on hold after the president met with the NPP MPs and urged them to give the Minister of Finance time to complete some pressing government business, including his IMF request.

    But ahead of the hearing of the motion for a vote of censure against Ken Ofori-Atta, the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Kodua Frimpong, wrote a letter to its MPs, directing them to stay away from the vote.

    In the statement dated November 9, 2022, the national leadership said that “While the National Executive body acknowledges the prevailing socio-economic conditions in the country and the need for urgent remedial interventions, it is our utmost position that the demand of the NDC-led Minority Caucus is ill-intended and aimed at derailing government’s efforts at resolving current socio-economic upheavals.

    “The leadership acknowledges that the Minister for Finance is the leader of government’s negotiation team with the International Monetary Fund. Considering that negotiation with the IMF is nearly completed, the National Executive body of the Party strongly believes that the removal of the lead person spearheading the negotiation may adversely impact the progress made thus far.”

    On the day of the vote of censure, the NPP MPs, led by the MP for Effiduase-Asokore, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye, stated in an interview that while they are bent on getting Ken Ofori-Atta out, they would not support the motion of the NDC MPs for a vote of censure against the minister.

    “We are here to reiterate that, however much you heard us speaking that based on the intervention of the president, we will have to see the minister of finance do his work, read budget, see through appropriation and then the president will act.

    “Over the days, we have heard the finance minister speaking and his speaking has influenced majority of us in the caucus, not only to state that we are back to the original position that we took, and that position is that the minister of finance must not be the one to read the budget, and must not be the one that would do the appropriation.

    “We are here to tell you this morning that this will be very soon for you to see, the position of us and we are going to be positively defiant about that posture until that action is taken. However, we are not going to support the cause of the NDC in the chamber this morning.

  • We’re in this crisis because of Akufo-Addo’s stubbornness – Dr. Wereko Brobby

    A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, has berated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the current hardship in the country.

    According to him, Ghana’s economy is in this state because the president refuses to listen to sound advice.

    Dr Wereko Brobby, who made these remarks in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, added that Akufo-Addo and his appointees are doing the same things he (Akufo-Addo) criticised the NDC government for when he was in opposition.

    “(The country) is in this current state because of stubbornness. Because from the beginning, we at Alliance for Change used to criticise the NDC for the size of their government, accusing them of squandering the country’s resources with the number of ministers they had appointed.

    “Now, this my brother (Akufo-Addo) comes to power, and the 85 ministers of Mahama we were complaining was too much, [he] increased it to 125. So, is this progress?

    “When we spoke about it, he said that the number of his ministers is insignificant but what matters is their output. This means that we criticised the NDC only to come and do worse than they did. This is why we are where we are today… If you decide not to take the advice on things we have spoken about, this is what happens. Today, inflation is over 40 percent, and it will be worse,” he said.

    Dr Wereko-Brobby added that the failure of the government to stabilise the nation’s currency and the prices of petroleum products is the cause of the hardships in the country.

  • Ghana’s framework on energy transition outdoored

    Ghana’s framework on energy transition has been out doored by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

    This was done on the sidelines of the ongoing COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

    While outdooring the document, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said that it has become imperative for Ghana to develop plans and strategies toward the creation of a net-zero energy sector, whilst aggressively pursuing the nation’s economic development.

    In preparing the framework, all existing policies and the programmes that are being implemented towards achieving Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions were considered.

    The transition will mitigate 200 million tons of carbon dioxide of greenhouse gas emissions, minimising energy-related indoor air pollution and associated diseases. It is estimated that forty-eight thousand, two hundred and eighteen (48,218) premature deaths will be avoided annually due to the improvement in air quality, resulting from the impact of the transition.

    The National Energy Transition Plan is the major component of a Climate Action Plan (CAP). They both seek to reduce energy usage through energy efficiency measures because that is the most cost-effective way of reducing carbon emissions.

    Read Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh’s Statement Below:

    On the sidelines of the ongoing COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo presented Ghana’s framework on energy transition at a High-Level Event organised by Bloomberg Philanthropies on Sustainable Energy for All.

    In December 2021, I inaugurated the National Energy Transition Committee and tasked them to engage all relevant and related stakeholders across the length and breadth of our country.

    My team and I were all delighted to witness the outdooring of the framework yesterday.

    With Ghana being a signatory to the Paris Agreement and other international conventions, which require the country to reduce her carbon dioxide emission levels, President Akufo-Addo indicated that it has become imperative for Ghana to develop plans and strategies toward the creation of a net-zero energy sector, whilst aggressively pursuing the nation’s economic development.

    In preparing this framework, all existing policies and the programmes that are being implemented towards achieving Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions were considered.

    The transition will mitigate 200 million tons of carbon dioxide of greenhouse gas emissions, minimising energy-related indoor air pollution and associated diseases. It is estimated that forty-eight thousand, two hundred and eighteen (48,218) premature deaths will be avoided annually due to the improvement in air quality, resulting from the impact of the transition.

    My ministry will continue to work hand-in-hand with other stakeholders to ensure that we are able to meet our energy transition targets and help improve the quality of life of Ghanaians.

  • Martin Kpebu is a full NDC member, the party sponsored his demo – Abronye alleges

    The Bono Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe, a.k.a. Abronye DC, has alleged that renowned legal practitioner Martin Kpebu, who has been calling for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to step down, is a member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

    Abronye DC alleged that Kpebu was given money by the NDC to organise his recent NanaMustGo (Kume Preko Reloaded) demonstration to get President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to step down for his poor management of Ghana’s economy.

    Speaking in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Abronye added that Kpebu, who claims to be incorruptible, refused to give the other organisers of the demonstration their share of the funds given to them by the NDC.

    “The call for the president to step down is a call by the NDC. Because under the Constitution if the president steps down automatically the Speaker (of Parliament) becomes president for the next 3 months.

    “Martin Kpebu, who is known to be an NDC member, is the one championing this course. He is a full member of the NPP… He is doing this (call for Akufo-Addo to step down) for the NDC. He went for the budget for this demonstration from the NDC – they gave him everything. He should come and swear that it is not the NDC who gave him the money for the demonstration,” he said in Twi.

    “He even stole all the money given to him by the NDC. He refused to give the other organisers their share. You (Kpebu) are saying that people are corrupt, but you refuse to give the other organisers of the demonstrations what is due them,” he added.

     

  • Lawyer Kpebu, Maurice Ampaw fight dirty over demands for Akufo-Addo to resign

    Private legal practitioners Martin Kpebu and Maurice Ampaw have clashed over the former’s demand for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to step done for his poor management of Ghana’s economy.

    The clash comes after Maurice Ampaw berated Martin Kpebu for his call for the president’s removal and suggested something might be psychologically wrong with Martin Kpebu.

    “In fact, Kpebu needs psychiatric treatment. I’m being frank because a lawyer wants us to enter into a constitutional crisis. Because the Kpebu that I know is a very good lawyer, a brilliant lawyer. But now that he has ventured into politics, it looks as if he has become a different lawyer.

    “Now, he is not putting on legal spectacles; he is putting on political spectacles and look at what Kpebu is professing. A whole lawyer is saying that a government must be forced to leave power to hand over power to the opposition.

    “… and he buttresses this with Article 41. Tell him that if he has forgotten the Constitution, he should read Article 41 – the duties of the citizens. Where in that provision is it written that the citizen has the right to force the president to resign,” he said in Twi.

    Reacting to this in an interview on Neat FM, which GhanaWeb monitored, Martin Kpebu said that Ampaw suggesting that he does not understand the law does not make sense because his records show that he is a better lawyer than him (Ampaw).

    “… Maurice Ampaw himself knows that I am a better lawyer than him. He can’t talk about me in this manner. Maurice is someone who has not practised law as I have, and so he can not speak about me like this in public.

    “Ask him the number of cases he has done in court. Ask him who his clients are… as a lawyer, how many cases he has worked on. Where is your chamber?” he said in Twi.

    Ampaw, who was also on the show, then clapped back at Kpebu, saying he was a more experienced lawyer than him.

    “Tell Martin Kpebu that I am his senior. When I was studying law, he was in JHS (Junior High School). When I started winning civil cases, he (Kpebu) was not a lawyer yet. He should bring the court cases he has won for us to compare.

    “Does he know my background? He is not my colleague when it comes to legal practice,” he said.

    Lawyer Ampaw added that Kpebu’s attempt to get the president to step down is a treasonable offence which he should be punished for.

  • Appointment of new GES boss: Proper processes and procedure was not followed – Apaak

    Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Education Committee, Dr Clement Apaak, has stated that the government failed to adhere to due process in appointing Dr Eric Nkansah as the new Director General of the Ghana Education Service.

    According to Mr Apaak, the government, among other things, failed to engage in proper consultations, including factoring in the input of the GES Council before the appointment.

    “The Council has a say even if the president has the power to appoint, and that is why the process requires that before the minister makes a recommendation to the president, that should have happened before the recommendation. And that is where the problem is; when we try to circumvent and ignore laid-down processes and procedures, this is what happens.

    “I believe that if the processes had been followed, a sense would have come that this appointment that the president was intending to make would not receive popular support from major stakeholders or if they had that sense, they would have done some background work to try and prepare the grounds,” he said during an interview with Okay FM monitored by GhanaWeb.

    His comment is on the back of the strike action declared by pre-tertiary teacher unions following the appointment of Dr Eric Nkansah by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

    The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), in a collective decision, announced the strike action last week.

    At a press conference last week, the unions rejected the appointment of Dr Eric Nkansah, who has a banking background, as the new GES boss.

    Addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday, October 20, the president of NAGRAT, Mr Angel Carbonou, said teachers were hoping that a person with a background in education would be appointed to bring his or her expertise to bear.

    “What annoyed and surprised all of us was that a new Director General has been appointed to the Ghana Education Service.

    “The authority to appoint Director General of GES is the president of the land. Unfortunately, contrary to what the teacher unions indicated that we would want a Director General who is a professional teacher who has passed through the mill, who can bring his knowledge, skills and influence to bear on the activities of teachers and non-teachers in the GES.

    “Contrary to that, the gentleman who was appointed yesterday is not a teacher; he is a banking officer who was a special assistant in the office of the minister and has been appointed as the DG of the GES. We are not happy with this development; it is as if we don’t have professionals and well-educated people who have gone through the mill in education in this country to run education,” he stated.

     

  • Lawyer for Kwesi Nyantakyi speaks on Supreme Court ruling on Anas testifying

    Thaddeus Sory, Lead counsel for former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi, has stated that his side is only ensuring due processes are followed in the ongoing criminal trial of his client.

    According to the private legal practitioner, the decision to seek a Supreme Court ruling to quash an order of the High Court granting investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas the right to testify against his client with his identity hidden is to ensure due process is followed.

    “We are not bent; that is a constitutional provision. If you check, it says every trial should be in public. It is statutory; it is a constitutional right to have your trial in public. So if you want to go contrary to that, it should be a compelling reason. So it is not as wanting somebody or not wanting somebody to testify in camera.

    “Basically, that is what it is (following due process), so that is what the constitution says that every proceeding should be in public and that if you want to testify or have a proceeding in camera, there are laid down processes and procedures that you go through. So if he comes today and says that he wants to testify in camera, yes, you should come properly; bring an application, support it with an affidavit,” he told GhanaWeb iLawyer for Kwasi Nyantakyi speaks on Supreme Court ruling on Anas testifying
    n an exclusive interview.

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, quashed a High Court ruling which granted the journalist the right to testify with a mask in the Republic v Kwesi Nyantakyi & Another case.

    Meanwhile, Cromwell Gray LLP, lawyers for the celebrated investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has urged the public to disregard what it describes as a false reportage within a section of the media that the Supreme Court of Ghana presided over by Baffoe-Bonnie, JSC, has ordered the journalist to testify without a mask.

    According to a seven-point release available to GhanaWeb, the lawyers indicated that the Supreme Court in its ruling on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, did not make such an order. They also noted that their client is not being compelled by the apex court to appear in court without his mask.

    Mr Nyantakyi and a former Chairman of the Northern Regional Football Association (RFA), Abubakar Alhassan, were charged with conspiracy to commit crime in a football scandal following Tiger Eye PI expose.

    Mr Nyantakyi is facing additional charges of corruption by a public officer and fraud by an agent.

    They have, however, denied the charges and have been admitted to bail in the sum of Gh¢1m with three sureties each; one of the sureties is to be justified.

    Anas, who is a witness of the prosecution nominated to testify against the accused persons after his colleague, Ahmed Suale, who was the lead witness, was murdered on January 19, 2019.

  • ‘Sika mpɛ dede’ – Presby Moderator ‘explains’ Akufo-Addo’s famous quote

    Most Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, the 18th Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has tasked Ghanaians to critique the government using the proper channels stressing that doing otherwise ultimately hurts the economy as it has the tendency of chasing away investors.

    “There is a medium to raise concerns about issues not to dirty each other in the media. The more we say negative things about our country, the more prices will shoot up. Because there is no investor who will seriously take you seriously.

    “It is this that someone wanted to say when he said sika mpɛ dede,” he added in reference to controversial comments President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made in his October 30 economic address to the nation.

    The clergyman was speaking at an event to climax the Centenary celebration of the Asante presbytery in Kumasi over the weekend, where he observed that the economic difficulties Ghanaians were experiencing were not unique to Ghana.

    But that over-politicization has become the norm, hence opposition parties are always acting in ways that shame the government so that they can boost their chances of winning power.

    “Ghana has become very difficult. But I also know that the whole world has become very difficult. I know that things have become very difficult and in Ghana, many people are not educated to know that there is a serious world crisis.

    “If you say it, many don’t believe because everything is politicized, so the opposition is interested in doing what will shame the ruling government so that he can be voted for. That kind of politics must be shunned, it is not nice. It doesn’t convince those of us who are educated,” he stressed.

    What Akufo-Addo said about Ghana being in a crisis

    Amid an economic downturn, calls for Akufo-Addo to resign has heightened with a November 5, 2022 protest dubbed ‘Kume Preko Reloaded’ making the loudest call as activists and politicians marched in Accra to press home that demand.

    The government is meanwhile, grappling with an economic crisis, which along with the galamsey scourge and corruption are the major drivers for the call on Akufo-Addo to resign along with his Vice President, Mahamadu Bawumia.

    Akufo-Addo in his October 30 address on the economy blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as causes for the country’s economic woes.

    While admitting that the country was in crisis and rallying support for various government interventions to stem the tide, he said the situation was not peculiar to the country as many nations across the world were also experiencing difficulties.

    “We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time.

    “But, as we have shown in other circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not just the short-term, urgent problems, but the long-term structural problems that have bedevilled our economy,” he said.

    But like before, President Akufo-Addo blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as causative factors for the economic woes.

  • DKB shades Sarkodie over Akufo-Addo’s ‘incompetence’

    Ghanaian comedian, DKB, has shaded award-winning artiste, Sarkodie for a song the rapper composed for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2020, endorsing him for president.

    DKB’s video captured Sarkodie’s lyrics, “If today I am sleeping with lights in my house and my children can go to school for free, forgive me, but Nana, continue (Toaso).”

    The aforementioned lines formed part of Sarkodie’s lyrics for the ‘Happy Day’ song which featured Kuami Eugene. The song was described by some persons as an endorsement of Nana Akufo-Addo because of the ‘Nana Toaso’ phrase which the ruling party and Nana Addo used for their campaign.

    According to DKB, after composing this song, Sarkodie has been mute over Akufo-Addo’s poor governance. The comedian mentioned that the rapper would have composed over 200 songs for the former President, John Dramani Mahama he were still president of the country.

    “If this be John Mahama time like he drops 200singles, 4 mixtapes, 7 EPs, 10 LPs and 56 remixes on the economic mess we Dey face. Na joke ooo,” he mocked.

    During John Mahama’s time as president, Sarkodie released ‘Inflation’, ‘Masses’ and ‘Dumsor’ which touched on the economic situation and energy crisis. The musician is yet to release a song addressing same although the economic crisis continue to worsen.

    In some social media reactions, netizens have indicated that DKB was being honest in his statement while noting that Sarkodie was a hypocrite.

    “True talk Yaaro. Every passing day, I get convinced he probably was paid to be churning out those songs. He’s probably been paid to shush now; who knows?” a user said.

    Another added, “He’s the greatest hypocrite of this generation” while a third said, “You are right.”

    Meanwhile, calls for Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to be sacked or resign following the economic crisis continue unabated. Some have also suggested that President Akufo-Addo should resign for failing to deliver.

    Fuel prices continue to increase astronomically. A litre which sold at GH¢6 in January now sells at GH¢17.99 while the cedi has returned to its depreciation trajectory. It now sells at GH¢14.20 instead of GH¢6 early this year.

  • Cut the ¢3.1bn budget earmarked to your office – Mahama tells Akufo-Addo

    The Akufo-Addo administration has ballooned the budget of the Office of the President in the last six years,  Former President John Dramani Mahama has said.

    Mr Mahama revealed that the budget has been increased from ¢700million to ¢3.1billion.

    He asked Mr Akufo-Addo to cut the budget to his office.

    “The budget for the Office of the President has ballooned, over the last six years, from GH¢700m to GH¢ 3.1bn in 2022,” he tweeted on Tuesday November 8.

    He added “For expenditure rationalization to be successful, it must first start in the President’s office. Substantial savings of GH¢1bn can be made by slashing the budget.”

    Regarding the construction of the National Cathedral, he said public funding of project particularly at this time, must stop.

    “Being a Christian myself, and deeply appreciative of the centrality of God in nation building, I agree with those who believe the project is not a top priority of at this moment for government,” he intimated.

  • Savings of ¢1bn can be made if Akufo-Addo reduces budget to his office – Mahama

    Former President John Dramani Mahama has noted that the budget to the Office of the President in 2022 was too high.

    He said the budget has been increased from ¢700million to ¢3.1billion this year.

    Mr Mahama asked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to cut the budget to his office in these times of economic difficulties.

    “The budget for the Office of the President has ballooned, over the last six years, from GH¢700m to GH¢ 3.1bn in 2022,” he tweeted on Tuesday November 8.

    He added “For expenditure rationalization to be successful, it must first start in the President’s office. Substantial savings of GH¢1bn can be made by slashing the budget.”

    His comments come at a time the government is seeking support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with the economic challenges.

    President Akufo-Addo says negotiation is going on well despite claims by some quarters that it is not.

  • Start expenditure rationalization from Akufo-Addo’s office – Mahama

    Ghana’s former president, John Dramani Mahama, has charged the government to start slashing down its ballooning expenditure from the Office of the President.

    In a tweet, John Mahama stated that the budget of the president’s office has ballooned exponentially in the last six years to GH¢ 3.1 billion.

    “The budget for the Office of the President has ballooned, over the last six years, from GH¢700m to GH¢ 3.1bn in 2022,” he tweeted.

    The former president further advised the government to start cutting down the expenditure of the president’s office, as it could save the country a substantial amount of money.

    “For expenditure rationalization to be successful, it must first start in the President’s office. Substantial savings of GH¢1bn can be made by slashing the budget,” he added.

    The government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been faced with a lot of economic challenges in the last year, with inflation figures skyrocketing.

    Fuel prices and the rate of exchange of the Ghana cedis to the US dollar have also been extremely high in recent months, plunging a lot of businesses into disarray.

    See John Mahama’s tweet below:

    The budget for the Office of the President has ballooned, over the last six years, from GH¢700m to GH¢ 3.1bn in 2022. For expenditure rationalization to be successful, it must first start in the President’s office. Substantial savings of GH¢1bn can be made by slashing the budget.

    — John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) November 8, 2022

  • Probe claims a wealthy businessman attempted to bribe ‘KenMustGo’ MPs – OccupyGhana to OSP

    Pressure group, OccupyGhana (OG), has petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to probe allegations of a wealthy businessman who attempted to bribe some 80 lawmakers of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) who were calling for the resignation of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

    The allegation was first made by Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.

    According to OccupyGhana attempting to bribe MPs is an attempt to influence the conduct of the lawmakers in the course of their official duties which is a potential corruption offence that falls within remit of the Office of Special Prosecutor.

    The group wants a probe into the claim and if the allegations are established to be true, proceed to prosecute.

    Some 80 NPP MPs at a press conference called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to fire Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

    However, after a meeting with the President, they backtracked and gave the Minister time to prepare the 2023 budget and also finish his engagement with the International Monetary Fund.

  • Kume preko reloaded: Is Martin Kpebu asking for a coup? – Anyidoho asks

    Koku Anyidoho, a one-time presidential spokesperson has reacted to the ‘Kume preko‘ reloaded protest that took place over the weekend.

    The protest which saw hundreds of Ghanaians clad in red and black and holding placards critical of the government was called by a private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu.

    The lawyer decried the spate of economic mismanagement as a core plank for his call for the president and his vice to resign and hand over power to the Speaker of Parliament.

    It is that demand that Anyidoho built his views around in a tweet dated November 6, 2022.

    It read: “When a lawyer goes on demonstration to ask that the President and Vice President should resign; is he asking for a coup?”

    Kpebu speaks at protest

    Kpebu led hundreds of demonstrators who marched through the capital on Saturday demanding the immediate resignation of President Akufo-Addo over Ghana’s current economic woes.

    Addressing protesters during the march, he said: “We are dying; citizens are dying; citizens can’t afford food; citizens are starving all because of misgovernance by President Akufo-Addo.

    “It never happened that you have a president in office and every time that the country borrows, the president’s family becomes richer; how? This can’t continue.

    “We can’t borrow all the time and have Databank becoming richer all the time. Citizens have a duty as stated in Article 41 [of the Constitution] to ask the president to resign and this is not the first time that a president of Ghana is going to resign,” Martin Kpebu said.

    What Akufo-Addo said about Ghana being in a crisis

    Amid an economic downturn, calls for Akufo-Addo to resign has heightened with a November 5, 2022 protest dubbed ‘Kume Preko Reloaded’ making the loudest call as activists and politicians marched in Accra to press home that demand.

    The government is meanwhile, grappling with an economic crisis, which along with the galamsey scourge and corruption are the major drivers for the call on Akufo-Addo to resign along with his Vice President, Mahamadu Bawumia.

    Akufo-Addo in his October 30 address on the economy blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as causes for the country’s economic woes.

    While admitting that the country was in crisis and rallying support for various government interventions to stem the tide, he said the situation was not peculiar to the country as many nations across the world were also experiencing difficulties.

    “We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time.

    “But, as we have shown in other circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not just the short-term, urgent problems, but the long-term structural problems that have bedevilled our economy,” he said.

    But like before, President Akufo-Addo blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as causative factors for the economic woes.

    When a lawyer goes on demonstration to ask that the President and Vice President should resign; is he asking for a coup?

  • NPP MPs could be lying about rejecting corruption money – Samson Anyenini

    Private legal practitioner Samson Lardy Anyenini has challenged New Patriotic Party(NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) to name a businessman who allegedly tried inducing them with money.

    According to him, the disclosure is the surest way to prove that the Members of Parliament indeed returned the money to the unnamed businessman and repelled him as they claim.

    Member of Parliament(MP) for Asante-Akim North, Andy Appiah-Kubi first disclosed on Accra based Joy Fm that the said businessman came to Parliament to meet with NPP MPs who had publicly called on President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo to sack the finance minister Ken Ofori Atta.

    The NPP MP added that the wealthy businessman sought to ‘mediate’ in the impasse between the MPs and the Finance Minister and attempted to give them money which they rejected.

    But speaking on Newsfile on Joy News, on Saturday, November 5, 2022; the lawyer wondered why the lawmakers allowed such a businessman to walk away after committing a crime of attempted bribery.

    He argued that the narration of the MPs raises doubts over whether they actually returned the money to the said businessman.

    “So, there was an offer and there was received. This is a transaction that resulted in a crime. At what point did any of these MP’s realise that they needed to return these envelopes as they have been telling us?

    “How should we come to a point of believing them that they in fact returned these envelopes? Did they? How many took it and how many returned it? What the MP’s have dealt with so far, leaves me in a position to believe that they are not being frank,” he said.

    Anyenini further stated that the unwillingness by the lawmakers to blow the cover of the businessman attempting to corrupt them further cast doubts on their narration.

    “Let us all dare them to name this businessman. If they do not, let us not believe them that they took the money and returned it. Indeed we are right that they [NPP MP’s] took the bribe and engaged in a corrupt conduct,” he added.

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • AGI boss tells industry to rally behind Akufo-Addo’s measures to tackle the challenges

    President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr. Humphrey Ayim-Darke has told industries to be courageous and rally behind the measures outlined by the President to tackle the economic challenges.

    He asked players in the industry to develop modalities to help circumvent the challenges.

    Speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday November 5, he said “Our case as an industry is, what are the remedies? It is necessary that at this stage we gather the courage as the president did and then from there, with what he has outlined as part of his proposed solutions, players in the space or actors in the various sectors of the economy should quickly rally around the said call and then develop modalities to circumvent the challenges.”

    He added “What can we say are the source of hope? That there is light at the end of the tunnel, how quickly can we all come together and take charge and seek to rectify the destruction that has befallen us. This has been the position of AGI leadership.”

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-0Addo in his public address on Sunday October 30 said the success of the government’s efforts at diversifying the structure of the Ghanaian economy from an import-based one to a value-added exporting one is what will, in the long term, help strengthen our economy.

    “We are making some progress with the 1D1F but our current situation requires that we take some more stringent measures to discourage the importation of goods that we can and do produce here.

    “To this end, we will review the standards required for imports into the country, prioritise the imports, as well as review the management of our foreign exchange reserves, in relation to imports of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, tooth picks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, and others which, with intensified government support and that of the banking sector, can be manufactured and produced in sufficient quantities in Ghana. Government will, in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the situation. We must, as a matter of urgent national security, reduce our dependence on imported goods, and enhance our self-reliance, as demanded by our overarching goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid.

    “Much as we believe in free trade, we must work to ensure that the majority of goods in our shops and market places are those we produce and grow here in Ghana. That is why we have to support our farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, and allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products, and guarantee a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens and the business community. Exports, not imports, must be our mantra! Accra, after all, hosts the headquarters of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area.”

    He added “as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money. If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down.

    “The recent turbulence on the financial markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange, and was made worse in the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators and the Black Market. An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had depreciated further. All of us can play a part in helping to strengthen the cedi by having confidence in the currency, and avoiding speculation. Let us keep our cedi as the good store of value it is. To those who make it a habit of publishing falsehoods, which result in panic in the system, I say to them that the relevant state agencies will act against such persons.

    “Indeed, some steps have been taken to restore order in the forex markets and we are already beginning to see some calm returning. We will not relent until order is completely restored. The following actions have been taken thus far: 1)  enhanced supervisory action by the Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally abide by the market rules. Already some forex bureaus have had their licenses revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in the sector;

    “2)  Fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market, and addressing the pipeline demand; 3)  the Bank of Ghana has given its full commitment to the commercial banks to provide liquidity to ensure the wheels of the economy continue to run in a stabilized manner, till the IMF Programme kicks in and the financing assurances expected from other partners also come in;

    ” Government is working with the Bank of Ghana and the oil producing and mining companies to introduce a new legal and regulatory framework to ensure that all foreign exchange earned from operations in Ghana are, initially, paid to banks domiciled in Ghana to help boost the domestic foreign exchange market; and 5)  the Bank of Ghana will enhance its gold purchase programme.”

    Source: 3news.com

  • Hogbetsotso Festival: Bawumia receives rousing welcome from Anlo State

    Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia Saturday received a rousing welcome at the Hogbetsotso Festival of the Anlo State in the Volta Region.

    The enthusiastic crowd chanted New Patriotic Party (NPP) songs to welcome the Vice President and his entourage to the 2022 festival, which marks the 60th anniversary of the Hogbetsotsoza.

    This year’s celebration is on the theme: “60 years of Anlo Hogbetsotso Za: Uniting for development, sustaining our unique cultural commonwealth for future generations”.

    Also present at the festival were the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Ga King, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II.

    Other chiefs and personalities from the Volta Region and diasporans also graced the historic ceremony.

    The Vice President called for togetherness for rapid socio-economic development.

    Hogbetsotso is celebrated in November at Anloga, which is the traditional and ritual capital of the Anlo State.

    The Festival unfolds Ewe history and brings to play the memories of legendary exodus and heroic acts of men of boldness and their mystical powers that liberated the Ewe-Dogbo people from the rule of tyrant King of Kings-Torgbui Agokorli of Nortsie in Togo.

    Hence, Hogbetsotso is derived from the word ‘Hogbe’ or ‘Hohogbe’-the day of exodus – the moment in time when the Ewes in the Dogbo quarter of the walled city of Nortsie in Togo, escaped from the tyrannical ruler Agorkorli by walking backwards.

    In order to commemorate the exodus and the bravery of their traditional rulers who led them on the journey, the people commemorate the annual festival of the Exodus – “Hogbetsotsoza”.

    Thirty-six states from the Anlo Traditional Area are participating in this year’s celebration.

     Source: GNA

  • Akufo-Addo leads Ghana’s climate negotiators to COP27

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will lead Ghana’s delegation of climate negotiators to this year’s 27th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP27) in Egypt.

    COP27, scheduled for 7 to 18 November, would be hosted in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh and will provide the platform for climate activists and negotiators to discuss, propose actions and make decisions towards facilitating the implementation of the various Articles of the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact.

    At a pre-COP media briefing organised by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in Accra, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, the sector minister, said Ghana’s team was ready to present the real needs of the African people at the conference.

    “Ghana will participate actively at the negotiations, and the Presidency implementation summit and also host a number of events at the Ghana Pavilion.

    “We will launch the Article six framework and sign some additional bilateral agreements with Sweden and Singapore. Other sectors will host events relating to their mandate, i.e., energy, forestry, transport, finance etc,” Dr Afriyie said.

    He said Ghana, which host the Presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), would also demand as a moral right, funds from the developed world to address issues of loss and damage being experienced by Africa due to greenhouse emissions from the big polluters.

    He argued that Africa, which continues to feel the highest impact of the climate change phenomenon but contributes just less than 5% of such emissions needed to be helped to mitigate and adapt to such impacts.

    The minister said the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change report released in February this year, projected the likelihood of some 118 million vulnerable people in Africa being affected by the impact of climate change by the year 2030 if nothing is done to curb climate issues.

    “With regard to loss and damage, Ghana recognises the impact of loss and damage on women, youth, children and other vulnerable groups and calls for the integration of these groups.

    “Finance for loss and damage is key…We expect delivery of new climate finance under the New Collective Quantifies Goal on climate Finance… We will follow up with our CVF colleagues and push to ensure that is achieved.”

    Meanwhile, altogether, 322 Ghanaian activists from both state and non-state institutions have registered on the government’s portal to attend and participate in COP27.

    Dr Afriyie explained that of the total, participants from government institutions account for 226, while those from non-state actors are 72 and those belonging to the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) 24.

    “Half of the number on the government platform are NGOs and partner institutions who decided to go through some institutions to be registered.

    “Therefore, the actual government staff attending the COP is about 150…People attending this will be participating in diverse programming including negotiations, workshops, side events and bilateral meetings. Sponsorships are also from diverse sources.”

    Source: Asaase

  • I can fight NPP boot for boot; vote for me – Ade Coker

    A Chairman hopeful of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), in the Greater Accra Region, Mr. Joseph Ade-Coker has boldly stated that he can match his opponent in the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) boot for boot to win massively in the next general elections in 2024.

    He said the NDC needs a courageous person like him to lead the battle and amass votes for the party to be at the helm of affairs in the country.

    Interacting with NDC delegates during his campaign tour, Mr. Ade Coker said, “I have demonstrated that l have the courage to fight the NPP, they should also watch the posture of the NPP, they have been telling us that they are going to break the eight-year jinx, …If that is the case, the NDC needs a very courageous, bold and articulate person to be able to lead them in the battle in the Greater Accra region, which always determines the winning votes of the NDC. They should vote for me, I have come to you with a message and with a plan.”

    The incumbent Greater Accra regional Chairman of NDC said the calibre of regional executives the delegates will elect internally will determine the party’s chances in the 2024 general elections.

    “The calibre of people you elect tomorrow will determine the success of the NDC going into the 2024 general elections. If you elect people who are not mature, competent, tried and tested, the results will be GIGO, Garbage in Garbage out,” he warned.

    He further advised delegates to desist from being influenced by money and enticing goodies.

    The NDC is expected to elect its regional executives on November 12-13, 2022, to steer the affairs of the party.

     

    Source: Citi News

  • ‘I’m the symbol of peace’ – Africa’s longest serving president declares bid for sixth term

    Equatorial Guinea‘s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has explained why he is running for a sixth consecutive term in office.

    According to an AFP report, the 80-year-old told a rally that his party had chosen him to run “because I am the symbol of peace that reigns in Equatorial Guinea.”

    He has ruled the oil-rich Central African country for 43 years, the longest for a serving president.

    His party launched their presidential campaign on Thursday with the vote expected to take place on November 20.

    Obiang seized power in 1979 from President Francisco Macias Nguema, who was the leader at independence and whose rule prompted a mass exodus and thousands of deaths.

    AFP adds that the country has 425,000 registered voters out of a population of around 1.4 million.

    Source: Ghanaweb