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BoG suspends forex licenses of Fidelity, FBN

By
JENNIFER AMBOLLEY
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Fidelity Bank

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has fined Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited and First National Bank Ghana Limited a combined 1,000 penalty points for breaching sections 3.4, 3.5, and 3.9 of the Ghana Interbank Forex Market Conduct rules.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Secretary of BoG, Sandra Thompson, and released in Accra yesterday.

“Bank of Ghana has fined Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited and First National Bank Ghana Limited a combined 1,000 penalty points each for breaching sections 3.4, 3.5, and 3.9 of the Ghana Interbank Forex Market Conduct rules,” she indicated.

In addition, the Bank has suspended the respective forex licences of the above-mentioned banks from 29th June 2023 to 28th July 2023.

By this notice, BoG has cautioned forex market players including banks, forex bureaus, forex brokers, and money transfer operators (MTOs) to adhere strictly to the applicable forex market regulations and guidelines.

According to section 3.4 of the Ghana Interbank Forex Market Conduct, “Licensed Foreign Exchange Dealer (LFXD) banks are required to update indicative quotes for buying and selling US dollars at regular intervals on the Reuters and Bloomberg information systems.

These quotes should be updated no less frequently than every 30 minutes. Indicative quotes serve as the minimum traded lots for market-makers.”

Section 3.5 continued: “All interbank FX trades must be booked on the Reuters platform and appropriately confirmed within five (5) minutes after the trade is concluded. These trades must also be reported in the daily FX report submitted to the Bank of Ghana.

“Section 3.9, the Bank of Ghana shall publish the Ghana Cedi reference rate with respect to the US dollar on the Bank of Ghana website by 16:30 hours GMT daily except on holidays.

The reference rate shall be computed using the weighted average exchange rate of all eligible US dollar transactions that are reported to the Bank of Ghana by the cut-off time of 15:30 hours GMT.

The Bid and Offer reference rates are calculated by taking a +/- 0.05% bid/ask spread around the weighted average exchange rate.”

Editorial: Kudos to Police for being tactful in Assin North

By
THE CHRONICLE
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Editorial

On Tuesday, Ghanaians witnessed one of the most fiercely contested, but yet peaceful, by-election in the Assin North Constituency in the Central Region.

The election, which was mainly contested by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), with the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) pulling strings, was tipped by many election observers to be a close contest between the two dominant parties.

The constituency was created in 2012, and in the same year, the NDC won it by defeating the NPP, but the pendulum swung four years later, as the NPP overturned the fortunes of the NDC by winning the seat.

However, the NDC came back strongly in the last general elections, held in 2020, to reclaim the seat from the NPP in a dramatic turn of event that saw Mr. James Gyakye Quayson emerged victorious.

Unfortunately for Gyakye Quayson, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that he was not eligible to have contested the elections, and that the Electoral Commission (EC) erred by clearing him to contest.

The ruling followed a court action instituted against him by a constituent, which started at a High Court in Cape Coast in 2017, less than a month after he had been declared the winner.

The ruling of the Apex Court set the stage for a by-election in the constituency, as the seat became vacant.

Stalwarts of the NPP and NDC stormed the constituency and spent weeks with the constituents even before a date was fixed for the by-election to canvass for votes for their respective candidates.

Looking at the situation on the ground as in how confidence, determined and desperate both parties were to undo the other for the seat, the anticipation that the highly charged tension could explode was somewhat anticipated.

As a result, the onus for tight security in the constituency before, during and after the elections rested largely on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, his lieutenants and the Police Service in general.

This was imperative because the nation was not ready to have a repeat of the nasty incidents of acts of hooliganism and “terror” which have greeted some by-elections in the past.

In fact, acts of violence were witnessed in Atiwa, Chereponi and Talensi during previous by-elections and the mother of all hell which occurred during the Ayawaso West Wagon by-election nearly marred the country’s infant democracy.

However, in spite of the high stake that was at play during the Assin North by-election, the Dr. Akuffo Dampare-led police administration stood up to the challenge and maintained law and order.

With just about a day to the election, the IGP, as parts of efforts to maintain peace and order, held a crunch meeting with the leadership of all the political parties that put themselves up for the contest.

At the meeting, the IGP assured the stakeholders of adequate security measures that his administration has put in place to ensure a peaceful elections and warned would-be trouble makers.

Undoubtedly, their tactical operation plans and swift responses to seeming acts of lawlessness and hooliganisms ensured that the election was peaceful devoid of brute violence that have greeted recent by-elections.

It is in the wake of the professional conduct of the police, which ensured that the election was relatively peaceful that we, at The Chronicle, want to pat the IGP on the back and praise him for a good job done.

At least, as clearly stated by the chairman Asiedu Nketia of the opposition NDC, the two by-elections held under Dr. Dampare have been relatively peaceful and encouraging.

For nothing at all, Ghanaians have been given a higher level of assurance that the police would be fair, firm and resolute during the 2024 general elections.

Provision of adequate security during elections is cardinal for the survival of budding democracy like ours, which places even a higher responsibility on the shoulders of the police.

Arguably, the current police administration has demonstrated that the police would be up to the task come 2024 if the two recent by-elections are anything to go by.

It is our hope and prayer that the level of seriousness the police attached to the security of the just ended by-election would be maintained at all facets to provide adequate security for the nation.

MP presents furniture to schools

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admin
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The MP presents the set of furniture to the District Education director (left)

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Offinso North Constituency, Mr. Collins Augustine Ntim, has handed over dual desks to the District Education Directorate for onward distribution to public schools in the area.

The procurement of the desks, which was funded from his share of his Common Fund, was in response to a request made by the District Education Directorate.

The furniture, which was made up of 500 dual desks, was to help solve some of the furniture challenges facing public schools in the district.

At a handover ceremony at the forecourt of the office of the Assembly, the MP stressed on his commitment to the provision of quality education in the area, and gave the assurance that he would not shirk his responsibilities to ensure that pupils received quality education.

The Member of Parliament tasked both the Education Directorate and the beneficiary schools to handle the furniture with care, and maintain them to help solve challenges in the district.

The District Director of Education, Mr. Martin Addo Fordjour, expressed gratitude to the MP and the Assembly for coming to their aid, and said the provision of furniture for the schools would go a long way to enhance teaching and learning.

He also appealed to the Assembly, the MP and other stakeholders to still come to their aid to help resolve the furniture challenges, since the deficit was huge.

He announced that 27 Junior High and Basic schools would be benefiting for now.

Offinso North Assembly receives GH¢235,986.74 Common Fund

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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Albert Sefa Boampong - DCE

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Offinso North, Mr. Albert Sefa Boampong, has disclosed that the Assembly had received GH¢235,986.74 from Central Government as its fourth quarter share of the District Assemblies Common Fund for the year 2022.

Mr. Sefa Boampong said with this financial support, the Assembly had embarked on several development projects across the district. The DCE, who disclosed this at the First Ordinary Meeting of the Offinso North District Assembly held at Akumadam, also disclosed that the Assembly realised a total of GH¢256,391.25 as of May, 2023, out of the estimated revenue of GH¢600,099, representing 43% of the target set for the year.

The DCE called on the Assembly members and the citizenry to support effort to help in intensifying public education regarding raising its Internally Generated Funds.

He said the move would help address challenges confronting the various communities within the District.

He said the Assembly had performed well in its Internal Revenue Mobilisation and needs to continue with it.

Sefa Boampong commended the Member of Parliament (MP), Mr. Collins Augustine Ntim, for his numerous contributions towards the development of the area, in education, health, agriculture, sanitation and roads among others, and called on him to do more,

The Member of Parliament, who also doubles as the Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, assured the House that more developmental projects were in the pipeline, and asked for their support to implement them successfully for the benefit of the people.

On security, the MP announced that the district Police Station would soon be upgraded to Divisional status status with sub-stations across the district to provide more security in the area.

The Presiding Member of the Assembly, Francis Awuah, commended the Assembly members for their tireless efforts and urged them to contribute to the deliberations of the Assembly as they considered the report of the various sub-committees to help develop the District.

AGA constructs GH¢630k 20-seater water closet for Anyimadukrom community

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admin
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The 20-seater toilet facility

AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine has handed over a GH¢630,000 20-seater water closet toilet facility with washrooms to the Anyimadukrom community in the Obuasi East District of the Ashanti Region.

Emmanuel Baidoo, Senior Manager Sustainability

The Senior Manager Sustainability, AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, Mr. Emmanuel Baidoo, while speaking at the handing over ceremony, said the construction of the toilet fell in line with the company’s 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan, which talks, among other things, about improving the sanitation and hygienic environment in the Obuasi community.

He noted that Anyimadukrom was one of the major communities in Obuasi, and that in working closely with the District Assembly and the leadership of the community, it became clear that a water closet toilet was a priority for the people.

He said providing the facility would help promote sanitation within the community, and also impact on the well being of the people.

He added that the proximity of the facility to the Kwabrafoso Basic School would help address some of the needs the school might have identified.

The Odikro of Anyimadukrom, Nana Takyi Mensah, emphasised the point that the facility was the property of the entire people of the area, and urged all to take good care of it to last longer.

The Anyimadukrom Assembly member, Yakubu Laminn, thanked the company for giving them the facility, and called on stakeholders to help rehabilitate the old school toilet for use to complement the new one.

From Frederick Danso Abeam, Obuasi

IPOB denies declaring one-week sit-at-home in South-east

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admin
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Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB.

The outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has denied declaring a one-week sit-at-home across South-east Nigeria.

Simon Ekpa, the leader of Autopilot, a faction of the IPOB, had, in a statement on 14 June, announced that there would be a one-week sit-at-home in the region.

Mr Ekpa, a self-acclaimed prime minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile, said the sit-at-home would hold from 3 to 5 July and continue from Friday, 7 to 10 July.

The agitator said the proposed civil action was to demand the “immediate and unconditional release” of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who has been detained at the facility of Nigeria’s secret police, State Security Service (SSS).

He said the action was also in preparation for the conduct of “Biafra’s self-referendum.”

Background

IPOB, in August 2021, introduced a sit-at-home order every Monday across the South-east to pressure the Nigerian government to release its detained leader, Mr Kanu, who is standing trial on alleged terrorism at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The separatist group later suspended the order in preference for the order to be implemented only on the days Mr Kanu appears in court.

But despite its suspension, residents of the five South-east states —- Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia and Anambra —- have been observing the Monday sit-at-home order, mostly out of fear.

Some residents and motorists, including commuters, have been attacked lately by gunmen for stepping out of their homes on Monday and other declared sit-at-home days.

Source: www.premiumtimesng.com

Fintiri bans tree felling for charcoal production in Adamawa

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admin
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Ahmadu-Fintiri

Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa has announced the ban on the felling and burning of tree trunks for charcoal production in the state.

The governor said Thursday that an existing law against tree cutting and use of tree trunks to produce charcoal for cooking would henceforth be strictly enforced.

Fintiri gave the order first when he received traditional rulers who paid him Sallah homage from across the state and later to members of the state House of Assembly who visited him at the Government House in Yola on Sallah homage.

He told the lawmakers who were led by Speaker of the House of Assembly, Bathiya Wesley, that they all have a responsibility to ensure the law against tree cutting is upheld.

“We have reached the firm decision that there should be no felling of trees and production of charcoal. All of us are expected to play our part to ensure that the law against tree cutting which we have not been implementing should from now be implemented strictly. I said this to the traditional rulers when they came.

“We must all do what we need to do in our respective capacities in this direction. We have to encourage our people to turn to sustainable alternatives to charcoal.”

The governor explained that his government decided to be firm against cutting down trees mostly to burn and produce charcoal because deforestation had been found to cause extensive flooding around the state.

“We have seen places which were hitherto free of flooding now being frequently flooded, causing destruction to our farms, homes and valuable assets,” he said.

Source: dailypost.ng

Tribunal: Ebonyi PDP alleges attacks on witnesses by APC

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admin
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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ebonyi State

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ebonyi State, on Thursday, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of launching an attack on its members who testified as witnesses against the APC before the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja.

The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the PDP in the State, Augustine Nwazunku, alleged that the PDP witnesses who testified before the election Tribunal at Abuja were attacked on return to their respective homes by suspected APC hitmen.

Nwazunku made this known in a statement signed and issued to newsmen in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State, on Thursday.

The statement alleged, “Some were brutally attacked by APC hired thugs, with their families, essentially chased out of their homes while business interests of our members’ farm were poisoned with yet to be verified chemical. Over twenty thousand fish fingerlings were physically damaged in some of the episodes of attacks,” the PDP alleged.

The Party alleged that APC Chieftains and leaders had been going around communities and local governments to threaten PDP faithful preparing to go to testify as witnesses before the Tribunal.

“The APC government has threatened to deal with any Ebonyi citizen seen to be hob-nobbing with the members of PDP in Ebonyi State,” the statement added.

In a reaction, the State Chairman of the APC, Stanley Okoro-Emegha, described the allegations as unfounded and challenged the PDP to bring up evidence of the alleged attacks on its members before the public.

Okoro-Emegha said the APC-led government of Ebonyi State is too busy with governance to be distracted by any person or group and urged the PDP to put their house in order and desist from making wide allegations.

Source: dailypost.ng

High expectations, anxiety as Nigerians await Tinubu’s ministerial list

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

The unveiling of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministerial list is unarguably one of the most keenly awaited developments in the country, not only by Nigerians at home, but in the diaspora.

There are indications that the ministerial list would be unveiled after the holiday on Thursday.

The ministerial list, which will contain the names of the individuals listed by the president to lead various ministries, is a critical component of the President’s vision for the country, and the expectations of Nigerians are indeed very high.

Nigerians say that they are expecting a new cabinet capable to tackle insecurity, corruption, and bring economic development. They say Nigeria needs competent individuals with a track record of success in their respective fields to drive progress and development.

Many of them that spoke to DAILY POST, say that they are hopeful that President Tinubu’s choices will reflect Nigeria’s diversity and inclusivity, and that the new ministers will be able to tackle the many challenges facing the country.

One of the respondents, Segun Awosanya, an institutional reforms advocate, popularly known as Segalinks, said that he’s been impressed by the decisiveness exhibited by the Tinubu administration.

According to Awosanya, a rights activist and founder of the Social Intervention Advocacy Foundation (SIAF), Nigeria’s next set of ministers must possess qualities like competence, experience, integrity, vision, teamwork, innovativeness and ability to communicate.

He said, “There are several qualities that one can consider as critical for the ministers in a developing economy like Nigeria and under the new administration of Ahmed Bola Tinubu, some of which include- competence. The ministers should be very competent in their areas of responsibility, possessing the skills, knowledge and experience required to perform their duties effectively, not about cronyism, or religion.

Source: dailypost.ng

Ghana-China relations deepen with visit of Chinese naval ship

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admin
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The long-standing relationship between Ghana and China has been strengthened with the visit of the 43rd Chinese Naval Escort Task Group to Tema Port, Ghana.

The 43rd Chinese Naval Escort Task Group consists of the Chinese war ship DDGH Nanning 162 Type 052DL guided-missile destroyer, the FFGH Sanya 574 Type 054A and a comprehensive supply ship AOR Weishanhu 887 Type 903, all of which have berthed on the territorial waters of Ghana.

The taskforce, with two ship-borne helicopters and over 700 troops, will voyage from Ghana on Saturday, July 1, 2023, after spending some time in Cote d’Ivoire as part of their escort mission.

The brief welcoming ceremony, characterised by performances from traditional Chinese masquerade dancers, also witnessed the assemblage of the Chinese community in Ghana, which continuously waved China and Ghana flags.

The 43rd Chinese Naval Escort Task Group, with women aboard in spotless white uniforms standing motionless with arms at the sides and feet together on the deck and outer parts of the ship, drew continuous applause from dignitaries and onlookers alike.

Performing their duty with bravery and loyalty during the past six months, the Escort Task Group has been on mission since January 10, 2023.

The group has successfully accomplished an escort mission in the Gulf of Aden, evacuated Chinese nationals from Sudan, fulfilled the international humanitarian obligations and protected the international sea lines of communication.

The Destroyer 162 berthed at the Tema Port, with the inscription “China-Ghana Friendship is Time-tested”.

It is one of the many Type 052DL guided-missile destroyers available to the Chinese surface fleet fitted with all-modern solutions to all-modern battlefield threats.

Dignitaries, including the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Lu Kun; Mr Kofi Amankwa-Manu, Deputy Minister of Defence; Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, Chief of Defence Staff; Senior Naval Officers and the Chinese Community were given a guided tour of the Destroyer 162.

Mr. Lu Kun, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, said the task force’s escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and evacuation of Chinese nationals from Sudan, demonstrated that China was a responsible country and congratulated the team for the courage, dedication and outstanding achievement.

He said China-Ghana relations was getting enhanced with pragmatic cooperation flourishing, cultural ties increasingly closer, and military cooperation making considerable progress.

The Ambassador said the Armed Forces of Ghana and China had and resumed face-to-face exchanges after COVID-19 with the sod-cutting for the Chinese Military Aid Gratis Project for Ghana.

The port call, he noted, aimed at deepening understanding, and would further consolidate the Ghana-China friendship and expand cooperation.

He expressed optimism that the visit would open a new chapter for military relations and promote China-Ghana relations to a higher level.

China and Ghana, the Chinese Ambassador said, were both advocates and defenders of world peace and that last year, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Security Initiative with China issuing the Global Security Initiative Concept Paper early this year.

“It states clearly that it is our common aspiration to achieve lasting world peace and China is ready to conduct bilateral and multilateral security cooperation with all countries and international and regional organisations under the framework of the Global Security Initiative…to jointly promote world peace and tranquillity,” he said.

Mr Kun said, “China supports the efforts of African countries, the AU 46 and sub-regional organisations to resolve regional conflicts, fight terrorism and safeguard maritime security”.

“Enhancing mutual exchanges and cooperation in the military field between our two countries is of positive significance. China is willing to explore cooperation with the Ghanaian side and jointly promote peace and tranquility in the African Region and the world at large.”

The visit of the 43rd Escort Task Group in Ghana, Mr. Kofi Amankwa-Manu, Deputy Minister of Defence, said was “appropriate and timely as the Government of Ghana is strategically deepening its relationship with its valued partners, including the People’s Republic of China to reshape our Maritime issues.”

He said over the past decades, the Ministry of Defence and the Ghana Armed Forces had benefited enormously from the Chinese Defence Cooperation Assistance in many areas, including training, platform acquisition, and construction amongst others.

Mr. Amankwa-Manu reiterated that the military relationship between the Ghana Armed Forces and the People’s Liberation Army had seen enormous cooperation, with the recent one being the 37 Military Hospital expansion project awarded to the China Shipbuilding Trading Company Limited.

Enhancing existing partnership between China and Ghana under a broader Defence Cooperation, he said, was important in the face of deteriorating security conditions within the West African sub-region.

“Enhanced security cooperation in the maritime domain will also help address some of the maritime security threats. Contemporary threats to security such as terrorism, violent extremism, climate change, pandemics, epidemics, can only be addressed through cooperation and collaboration with each other,” he added.

Senior Captain ZHAO Lang and Senior YANG Yanhua, captains of the Destroyer 162, said the 43rd Chinese naval escort taskforce set sail for the Gulf of Aden and the waters of Somalia from a military port in Zhanjiang city, southeast China’s Guangdong province, on the morning of January 10, 2023.

Captain Zhao, who applauded the hard work of the task force, said in late April, an armed conflict broke out in Sudan and due to the severe and prolonged nature of the conflict, the task force rushed to Sudan and evacuated 1,171 people from nine countries successfully.

Source: GNA

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