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Honyenuga, others retire from judiciary

By
BERNICE BESSEY
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The retired judges in group photograph with the Chief Justice

The Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG) has bid two justices of the Supreme Court – Agnes Dordzie and Justice Clemence Honyenuga – and ten others of the lower courts farewell after many years of service.

The Association sent off the retiring members amid cheering, acknowledgements, and presentation of plagues and envelopes at their annual conference held in Accra yesterday, under the theme: “Maintaining the Integrity of the Judiciary amidst the challenges of Democratic rights and Freedom.”

The retirement of the judges was announced by the AMJG President, Justice Henry A. Kwofie, while reading his address to welcome the members to the Conference.

He said the justices of the High Court going on retirement were Irene Charity Larbie and Merley Wood of the Court of Appeal, Fred Awuah, Nathaniel Osam, Rebecca Sittle, and Cecilia Donchebe.

The rest are Robert Agleze, Anthony Abiri Abebrese, Korkor Owusu Achaw and Seth Alafa of the Circuit and the District courts.

Justice Kwofie told the members that the package presented to the retiring judges this year had been increased, and that the decision was also based on the number of years they had severed and contributed to the Association.

According to him, the pervious practice where long serving members were bracketed with those who had served as judges and paid dues only for a short term, were unfair, adding, “We have also increased the amount paid to members in the event of bereavement.”

His Lordship Justice Anin Yeboah also announced to the members that the event was the last he would be attending as the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, and thanked them for their contribution for justice delivery in the country.

He urged the members of the Association to use the occasion as an opportunity to take stock of their performances over the year, and identify where they fell short and strategise to secure the future and perform better.

Infrastructure development

Although Justice Kwofie was thankful for the infrastructural development being undertaken by the government, the he decried the deplorable state of the Cape Coast Court Complex, which urgently needed fixing, as well as the Wa Court Complex, which had also been abandoned.

Being particular about the Cape Coast Court Complex, he said: “I had the opportunity to visit one of my colleagues who works in the building this year in June, when it happened to be raining and although I am aware the court was in [a] deplorable state, I was shocked by what I saw; bowls and pans in various corners where the water was dripping to the judge’s office and [the] court room.

“It was definitely unacceptable, and no matter how determined you are to work [in] such an environment, [it] is not conducive to hard work. Something seriously needs to be done urgently about the Cape Coast Court Complex,” he lamented.

He noted that building more across the country requires an increase in the budget of the Judiciary to enable it purchase the materials the Association members needed to discharge their duties.

The Chief Justice gave an assurance that the government had not turned a blind eye on the deplorable conditions of the Cape Coast Court Complex and others that needed renovation, and that something was being done about them.

“We know that the working conditions of some of you, especially in the semi-urban areas are disappointing. We are working to improve the situation. We are investing more resources and refurbishing more court infrastructure including accommodation while we construct new ones,” he assured.

He added that the Service was making efforts to improve the application of technology to the work in the court rooms, and that they were equally working to acquire funding the World Bank for the expansion of the E-Justice system.

GIS Boss sues TV3 for GH¢20 million

By
BERNICE BESSEY
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Kwame Asuah Takyi, Head of GIS
TV3

The Media General, TV3 Network Limited and their Morning Show icon, Johnny Hughes, might be paying the Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Kwame Asuah Takyi, GH¢20 million in the event they are found guilty in a law suit brought against them by the latter.

In the writ of summons filed on September 27, this year, at the Accra High Court by the Comptroller-General,  Mr. Takyi, is seeking, among other things, GH¢20 million damages from the defendants, due to defamatory statements made against him.

He averred that Johnny Hughes, who is an employee, servant and/or agent of Media General and TV3, between August 24 and September 23, 2022, on a Morning Show segment called “Johnnies’ Bite,” made certain defamatory statements to the effect that the Comptroller-General was allegedly engaging in corrupt practices, as well as abusing his office.

Some of the supposed utterances captured in the writ include the Comptroller-General was indulging in visa and permit malpractices, for which he was once punished. For which, the Comptroller-General was interdicted from 2013 to 2017.

According to the writ, Mr. Hughes also accused the plaintiff of painting the Service with political colours, and as such, Mr. Takyi recruits political immigration officers, protocol immigration officer, leaving out proper immigration officers.

It further quoted the third defendant of saying that there were some senior officers at the top who were benefitting, perhaps, from the rot in the Service, and such persons did not want somebody to go, because once that was done, their cover would be blown.

Following the aforementioned statement, the writ alleged that the 3rd defendant made an emphatic statement that “… the corruption must stop; Takyi must go.”

It continued: “… are you still aware that those receipt issuing syndicate, the corruption, the money under the table like Nana Addo spoke about, which is why you have centralised all permits renewal for foreigners at Assistant Commissioner of Immigration for six years, and has not been promoted, meanwhile, there is four year convention or rule if you ask any uniformed person they may tell you, unless, of course, there are certain circumstances…?

Johnny was said to have accused the plaintiff of failing to attend the funeral rites of DCOI Peter Claver Nantuo, the GIS Volta Regional Commander, whom he claimed was known to be the Comptroller-General’s enemy, and as a result, he replaced the deceased while battling for his life at the Ridge Hospital.

Johnny is alleged to have further accused the Comptroller-General of supervising an Immigration Service, now known to be the second most corrupt institutions in the country.

To add insult to injuries, the plaintiff said the 3rd defendant said: “…in a regimented space there is order, there’s discipline. Is that the kind of discipline you teach your officer? To molest people who are going about their normal duties. Did you molest Aisha Huang? When you were busy giving her whatever it is on Sunday.”

Additionally, it said on the Johnnies’ Bite show, the plaintiff was accused of promoting persons within his secretariat over and above their seniors, and to the extent that he promoted a family member twice in a day.

In the suit, Johnny is reported to have said if Mr. Takyi dared him, he would be compelled to open more cans of worms to prove that the Comptroller-General was corrupt, used his position to settle personal scores with his officers; used the GIS to make money for himself, and had a questionable character.

The law suit, which may serve as a fine opportunity for the television icon and his employers to prove their case, is seeking an order directed at the defendants to retract and expunge or remove from their website any records and archives related to all the defamatory publications and statements related to the plaintiff.

It also wants an order directed at the defendants to remove or pull down from all search engines or links from which the alleged defamatory publications and statements regarding the plaintiff were accessible.

It also wants an order to be directed at the defendants to retract defamatory statements and render an apology to the plaintiff, while an injunction should be placed on the defendants from making or publishing similar defamatory statements about the plaintiff.

The plaintiff averred that the statements made by the 3rd defendant on the Media General and TV3 platform were false and a calculated attempt to disparage him and lower his hard earned reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the society.

The defendants have been given eight days after service of the summons to enter appearance.

Editorial: Otto Addo and his men must sit up

By
THE CHRONICLE
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Editorial

After missing out on the last edition of the FIFA World Cup in Russia four years ago, the rest of the world, and the Continent of Africa in particular, would be expecting the Black Stars to make a strong impact as they go to Qatar for the Mundial in November.

This is highly obvious in the face of the footprints and enviable feat the Stars have achieved in their last three appearances from 2006, which marked their maiden appearance, through 2010 to 2014.

During the maiden appearance in Germany, the four times AFCON champions were drawn in a group of death, made up of Italy, USA and the Czech Republic.

The Azuries disciplined the debutants with a painful defeat, but the Stars made amends and proved their mettle by beating both USA and the Czech to progress to the next stage of the competition.

Their impressive achievements in the tournament put a spotlight on the Stars, and raised high the flag of Ghana around the world.

Appearing for a second time four years later in South Africa, the Black Stars made a greater impact with a flamboyant display that nearly propelled them to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Having gained much experience from their previous two appearances, hopes were high for the third consecutive appearance in Brazil. However, the Stars could not secure a single win in a group made up of USA, Portugal and Germany.

Some bizarre and off the pitch circumstances characterised their campaign. Though Ghana managed a respectable 2-2 score line against the mechanical Germans, who eventually won the cup, the off the field distractions led to the Stars bowing out in a shambolic manner.

All these antecedents are illustrations that the Black Stars of Ghana have not been mere participants in the previous world cup appearances, but they have always been a real force to reckon with.

The Stars failed to qualify for the last edition of the world cup in Russia. Perhaps, diminishing returns has set in and this was to be expected, as most of the experienced players were fading out for others to take over.

Following that disastrous qualifying campaign, adequate preparations were made and the Stars qualified at the expense of old foes, the Super Eagles of Nigeria. The zeal with which the players sacrificed their all and played their hearts out to beat Nigeria to qualify did not just endear them to the hearts of Ghanaians, but it also brought back the love for the gallant Black Stars.

Like several thousands of disappointed Ghanaians who watched the Stars in the last two international friendlies against Brazil and Nicaragua, The Chronicle is equally concerned with their inconsistent performance.

In the first pre-World cup trial match against Brazil, the Stars appeared absolutely disorganised and could not play to any rhythm, suffering a 3-0 defeat.

The Chronicle is very much alarmed not just because Ghana has lost to Brazil but due to the fact that the Stars could not play as a team that is going to the world Cup in a few months from now.

In our honest view, the team lacked direction and clear cut formation, as we looked so miserable in all departments of the game.

As a practice match, one could say the defeat afforded the technical handlers the opportunity to fine-tune by plugging all the loopholes exposed by Brazil.

The focus shifted to our second trial game against Nicaragua, a weaker side ranked 139th by FIFA, where the Stars were expected to redeem their image.

Rather, the game exposed the Stars the more, as a dogged display by the opponent proved how vulnerable our team is, ahead of the world cup.

The poor performance put up by the Stars has set the pace for questions to be asked about the technical competency of head coach Otto Addo, who prior to picking up the Black Stars job, had no experience in coaching a national team.

However, there is the final opportunity for coach Otto Addo to fine-tune his team with a final friendly against high-flying Switzerland next month.

In our sincerest opinion, the performance of the Stars in the last two friendlies was not satisfactory, as the team prepares for the final showdown in Qatar, in Group H made up of Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea.

If Otto Addo does not pull his weight, the FA must not hesitate to hand Chris Huston the opportunity to lead us to Qatar.

Football is indeed the opium of the Ghanaian masses and, therefore, the Mundial cannot be the grounds for any “ma try ma kwe”, (to wit ‘I will try and see’).

NLA marks 60 Years today

By
admin
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NLA

Lottery over the years has contributed to national growth and development. Established in 1962 as the Department of National Lotteries, Ghana’s first present invited a young man Mr. Brennan from Malta to help setup up the DNL and now operates as the National Lottery Authority (NLA) after Act 722 was enacted in 2006.

NLA remains the leader in the lottery business in the sense that it has the legal mandate to regulate the industry and also operate lottery the country.

In addition to this autonomous role, the main objective of NLA is to raise revenue to run it’s affairs, and to pay whatever is left to government to support developmental needs or projects in the country. Against this background, NLA undoubtedly is a national asset, but this feat did not come with ease.

The NLA brand was built with solid integrity as its core value while other values such as respect, excellence, accountability, leadership, and teamwork equally complemented the success story.

The NLA has its spread across the sixteen regions in Ghana, and continues to expand its tentacles to every nook and cranny. The expansion project is duly on course under the current leadership of Mr. Samuel Awuku, Director General of the authority.

Some successes and gains have made by NLA particularly under the current administration headed by Mr. Awuku.

To mention but a few include unity among staff, payment of huge backlog of unpaid wins, discipline and punctuality at work, introduction of new games, fight against illegal lotto operators, among others, as part of the social responsibility.

The Good Causes Foundation has been established with the mandate to carry out or reach out to the needy and the destitute in the society.

It basically operates in four areas namely, education, health, sports, and culture. In the past, what existed was commonly referred to as Special Projects.

The NLA boss believes that the authority through the foundation wants to give back to society by offering assistance to the vulnerable, people with disability, and the poor in the country.

Under Mr. Awuku, NLA has been readmitted into African Lottery Association and World Lottery Association, where the authority is expected to restore to its former status as a respected body in the global lottery business.

Challenges

As with all public organisations, the NLA as a state parastatal faces some challenges, but which are surmountable, the Director- General admits. Foremost challenge is the illegal lotto operators.

The operation of these people is giving the NLA boss a sleepless night as their continued activities affect the revenue generation of the authority.

They do not pay licence to operate, and take some part of the market of the lotto business. Another problem is the lotto fraudsters, who use the name of NLA to swindle innocent people and lovers of the game. The authority loses revenue and at the same time creates bad image for it’s brand.

Link to this is social media scammers. They use Facebook and WhatsApp to trap unsuspecting individuals to promise them winning numbers, which they claim emanate from the strong room of NLA. No such room exists though.

Anniversary Launch

On Thursday, September 29, 2022, the NLA will officially launch how it intends to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of its existence as far as lottery business is concerned.

Media people, celebrities, government officials, stakeholders, former director generals, traditional chiefs etc are expected to attend the launch.

Mr. Awuku will use the occasion to announce the programme of activities line up for the celebration from September to December, 2022.

The  climax of anniversary is scheduled for December 9, when all director generals of the lottery within the African continent will converge in Accra to support and participate in the anniversary celebration.

Ghanaian Insurance Industry holds 22nd Annual AIRDC Conference

By
JENNIFER AMBOLLEY
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Dignitaries present at the conference

The Ghana insurance industry has held its 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of Insurers and Reinsurers of Developing Countries (AIRDC) as part of its goal to expand international collaboration and cooperation in the fields of insurance and reinsurance.

The conference was organised by the National Insurance Commission (NIC), Insurance Brokers Association of Ghana (IBAG), Ghana Insurers Association (GIA), Chartered Insurance Institute of Ghana (CIIG), Chartered Insurance Ladies Association of Ghana, and the National Association of Ghana Insurance Agents (NAGIA).

The conference was held under the theme “Building Resilience in the heat of a Global Economic Tussle” in Accra on Monday.

AIRDC’s main objective is to strengthen the insurance market in developing countries, and to foster inter-regional cooperation within the insurance industry.

Speaking in a keynote address at the Conference, the Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and Sahel (UNOWAS), Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, noted that from his experiences with the United Nations (UN), the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), he had come to appreciate the value of collective action in resolving common challenges.

According to him, the persistent challenges of poverty in parts of the world led to global deliberations, resulting in the adoption of the United Nations Global Compact, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the noble objective of ensuring development that leaves no one behind.

“Several global macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges, such as rising inflation, ongoing cross-border disruptions in some regions, and continuing COVID-19 concerns, threatened to decrease growth and profitability” he added.

He continued: “The difficulties associated with embargoes on some economies, and the disruptions to supply chains and maritime transport have threatened our efforts to establish a global [a] economy based on the principle of the free flow of goods and services.

“Yet, in my opinion, things would have been much worse if we hadn’t had insurance to play a critical role in promoting disaster resilience, by providing financial protection and preventing negative economic hardships after the disasters.”

The Commissioner of Insurance, Dr. Justice Ofori, in his remarks noted that insurance policy for the uncertain future became more conspicuous to persons and organisations which, hitherto, were averse to insurance.

Dr. Justice Ofori stated that the insurance sector globally had witnessed appreciable growth in the past two years, albeit the many challenges, including high claims payments.

“Ghana’s insurance industry, like the insurance industry worldwide, was challenged by circumstances due to COVID, but we managed to keep our heads above waters. I am sure the same is true for my colleague regulators.”

He reiterated that the insurance business was built on trust and the commitment to fulfill promises, so a suitable dose of prudential supervision was necessary for it to grow and flourish.

Despite the opportunities, he acknowledged that the insurance market in developing countries still faced some notable challenges, key among which were lack of trust in insurance, unhealthy competition, bad corporate governance practices, and fluctuating boardroom ethics.

Ashanti ECG recovers GH¢90k from 18 illegal connections

By
ERNEST BEST ANANE
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The suspected illegal consumers arrive at the police station
Inj. David Boadi Asamoah, Ashanti Regional Director ECG

The Ashanti Regional Taskforce of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), in a joint operation last Monday night, arrested about 200 customers, 18 of whom had connected electricity illegally, at Abuakwa and Suame, after they had been disconnected.

The company realised about GH¢90,000 after they were charged GH¢1,000 each for the illegal reconnection, and GH¢600 as penalty.

Madam Grace Garshon, Ashanti Regional Public Relations Manager, explained that the billing and revenue task force of the ASBU embarked on the exercise towards improving revenue mobilisation and reduction of commercial losses.

As part of the terms and reference, the Taskforce would undertake night monitoring to ensure that customers, who do self reconnection after they had been disconnected, were apprehended by the police.

She stated that about 27 recalcitrant customers had been apprehended within a period of two weeks by the police for the offence.

Madam Garshong stressed that the aim of the exercise was to stop the intractable behaviour of some customers, and to also ensure a reliable and sustainable power supply to residents in the Ashanti Region.

NSS, KIC sign MoU to enhance small enterprises capacities

By
SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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The two Executive Directors exchanged the signed documents

The National Service Secretariat (NSS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) to assist small enterprises under the mentorship of the Center to scale up their capacities by supporting them with fresh Ghanaian graduates.

The agreement to be executed under the Kosmos Innovation Center Incubation Hub would see graduates from universities across Ghana groomed by businesses under the KIC programmes, by orienting them with skills and tools that would adequately prepare them for future opportunities.

The initiative would also help imbibe the essence of entrepreneurship among the graduates, and potentially recruit them into very prospective field.

The Executive Director of the KIC, Benjamin Gyan-Kesse, during the ceremony, expressed his concern over the increasing rate of the unemployment in the country, and said it was essential for a structured programme involving public-private partnership to bridge the knowledge and skills gap among graduates.

He disclosed that aside enabling the startups under the mentorship of the KIC to scale up by providing them with labour the initiative was also KIC’s module to add value to graduates.

Mr. Gyan-Kesse commended the NSS for its commitment to the project and considering the partnership a viable venture, noting that the Secretariat’s support to post National Service Personnel to use their service period to develop and grow businesses within the KIC landscape was highly plausible.

The Executive Director of the National Service Secretariat, Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, stated that his outfit was committed to collaborating with key public and private agencies to provide employment opportunities for personnel after their service period.

“The deficit we are facing in the employment scene in Ghana could be curbed when we adequately equip the youth to venture into entrepreneurship; even better when it is Agripreneurship,” Mr. Assibey Antwi said, and expressed joy in the partnering with the KIC for the project.

Full statement read by Finance Minister on Ghana-IMF negotiations

By
admin
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Mr Ofori-Atta addressing the media yesterday

  1. Good Morning, and welcome to the 4th Press Briefing on the Economy this year. This is a build-up of our engagements on 20thJanuary, 24th March and 12th May. These bi-monthly engagements have complemented the statutory update we provided on the Economy when we presented the 2022 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament on 25th July 2022.
  2. Since 2020, our economy has seen considerable economic uncertainty. The priority for Government since the COVID-19 episode and the Russia-Ukraine war has been to address macro stability and welfare challenges that confronted the economy. Yet we have seen inflation spiral and significant depreciation of our domestic currency that has affected many families and businesses. Globally, this development is now being described as the worst global cost of living crisis in 50 years.
  3. Specifically, inflation remains high at 33.9% (August 2022), and the cedi has depreciated by 37.1% against the US Dollar as at 27thSeptember 2022.
  4. Indeed, during the 2022 Mid-Year Budget Review, I highlighted that our present situation was a painful one to report on. We haven’t seen anything like this since August 2001 when the inflation rate hit 33.9%.
  5. Ladies & Gentlemen, we are at an important moment in our economic history; and in the context of today’s briefing, it is important to focus on the progress being made to put us firmly on a path of macroeconomic stability.
  6. We have since Q1-2022 cut discretionary expenditures in our budget by 30%. In addition, we announced a number of expenditure measures to keep public spending in line with our tightening economic conditions including restraints on purchase of new vehicles and a moratorium on non-statutory travel.
  7. As part of measures to shore up our reserves, improve exchange rate stability and address some of the funding needs, the Ministry successfully worked on a US$750 million Afrexim bank loan facility which was received in August 2022. The traditional Cocoa Syndication Loan, expected in the last quarter of 2022 which will promote the cocoa sector, will further help us build our FX reserves and provide a strong buffer for the cedi in the last quarter of the year.
  8. Additionally, the Bank of Ghana has introduced enhanced measures such as a Special Foreign exchange auction for bulk distribution companies and a Gold Purchase Programme to contain the depreciation of the cedi, which is now slowing down.
  9. So far, provisional fiscal developments for Jan-July 2022, presented within the context of the 2022 Budget revised deficit target of 6.6%of GDP and a primary balance of 0.4% of GDP show that:
  10. The overall fiscal deficit amounted to GH¢31.1 billion (5.3%of GDP), against a target of GH¢31.2 billion (5.3% of GDP); and
  11. The corresponding primary balance for the period was a deficit of GH¢7.6 billion (1.3% of GDP), against a deficit target of GH¢7.8 billion (1.3% of GDP);
  12. Current year expenditure has also largely been contained owing to the operationalization of expenditure cuts announced since March. We are on course with expenditure rationalization efforts, and will continue to enforce strict adherence to these measuresacross all MDAs, while ensuring efficient delivery of public services.
  13. The Ghana Revenue Authority has intensified its efforts to shore up domestic revenue mobilization, particularly in relation to the enforcement of compliance measures. The increased visibility of GRA officials at shopping malls and various commercial establishments and at our borders across the country is in pursuit of meeting our revenue objectives.
  14. Such exercises form part of an ongoing drive to ensure we take significant steps forward in remedying long-standing challenges with domestic revenue mobilization, indiscipline, corruption and leakages. Of course, heightened tax compliance and increased taxaudit exercises will continue to be complemented by policy initiatives that allow us to tap into a wider pool of taxpayers in the years ahead.
  15. Overall, our growth outturn of 3.4% and 4.8% in Q1 and Q2 of 2022 respectively, coupled with modest improvements in our fiscal position, suggests our economy is gradually on the upswing despite the numerous shocks we have faced over the past two years. These figures demonstrate that in spite of recent challenges, there has been economic growth, modest as the gains so far may be.
  16. This progress gives us a solid foundation to confront the challenges ahead. Undoubtedly, global risks remain on the horizon, including a strengthening US dollar and higher interest rates which negatively affect external borrowing. This development is exerting enormous pressure on our Balance of Payment position, and thus the need for us to expedite our engagement with the IMF.
  17. Within this context, Government is finalizing its Post-COVID-19 economic programme as the domestic blueprint to engage the IMF.
  18. This document has already benefitted from input from key stakeholders including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), social partners (Labour unions, employers, and FBOs), academia, industry professionals, and the leadership of Parliament. Additional stakeholder engagements will be held to solicit further inputs for the programme.
  19. Our economic programme contains a set of time-bound structural reforms and fiscal consolidation measures to place our debt levels and fiscal accounts on a sustainable path over the medium-term. The programme is hinged on seven (7) pillar, namely:
  20. Debt Sustainability;
  21. Fiscal Consolidation;

iii. Strengthening Monetary and Exchange Rate Policies

  1. Building Strong Financial Institutions;
  2. Macro-Critical Structural Reforms;
  3. Maintaining Peace and Security; and

vii. Economic Growth and Transformation.IMF NEGOTIATIONS

  1. The formal negotiations for a Fund-supported programme began on Monday September 26th, 2022 and discussions are advancing smoothly. The IMF Mission will cover a period of 10 days; and in line with H.E. the President’s dialogue with the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, and negotiations will be fast-tracked to ensure that key aspects of the programme are reflected in the 2023 Annual Budget Statement in November 2022. Government is committed to ensuring that a comprehensive package is negotiated with the aim of restoring and sustaining macroeconomic stability, ensuring durable and inclusive growth and promoting social protection.
  2. As stated in our press release dated 26th September, 2022 on the commencement of the IMF negotiations, having a sustainable debt path is a pre-requisite for the IMF programme. Therefore, the IMF/World Bank and the Ghana Team are currently undertaking a debt sustainability analysis (DSA) to inform the programme negotiations.
  3. In addition, the IMF and Government Team are working to update the medium-term macro-fiscal framework to inform IMF programme design. Also, the Government Team and the IMF Team are discussing policy measures and structural reforms proposed in our economic programme aimed at addressing the economic challenges facing the country towards restoring and sustaining macroeconomic stability, fiscal and debt sustainability, as well as promoting durable and inclusive growth and social protection.
  4. Ladies & Gentlemen, we simply have not reached any agreement with the Fund on the parameters of any debt operations as we are in the process of completing the debt sustainability analysis. Government shall continue to actively engage all stakeholders in a clear and transparent manner as we seek to fast-tract the IMF negotiation process.
  5. Ghana needs a viable domestic financial system to support its development programme, especially in these three years with limited access to the International Capital Market. Therefore, everything must, and will be done, to protect our financial sector; and there must be room for a win-win conversation through extensive stakeholder engagement with both our domestic and external investors. Ghana has always had a collaborative approach with its partners and we shall, I am confident, come out with an ‘historic arrangement’.
  6. This is a Government that protected the savings of 4.6millionGhanaian depositors with the reform of the Banking and financial sector even in our early days. We owe it to the economy and Ghanaians to keep protecting it.
  7. The sanctity and the well-functioning of the financial system is sacrosanct and we need the support and trust of all Ghanaians to deliver this. Let us join hands to get this done. The great Celtic Miracle in Ireland in the 1980s was the result of such collaborations especially with Labour and we shall also be blessed with the Ghana Miracle.
  8. A 5-Member Committee consisting of prominent financial services professionals will lead extensive stakeholder engagements across all the key segments of the financial sector – i.e. banking, asset, management, pensions, and insurance. The announcement of the Committee Members will be made in the coming days and they will immediately get to work to engage key stakeholders in the financial services sector, additional to ongoing engagements with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), social partners (labour unions, employers, and FBOs), academia, industry professionals, and the leadership of Parliament.
  9. We welcome all contribution to this great public debate, but we must be careful to build and not to tear down our nation.
  10. Ladies & Gentlemen, we will leverage on our strengths to rebuild the economy focusing on our productive sectors. Initiatives such as the You Start programme that will provide a Million jobs will support entrepreneurs with loans to build their capacity to create more jobs and realise the President’s vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid and an entrepreneurial nation.
  11. The Development Bank Ghana (DBG), which we capitalized at US$750million is also supporting the private sector to invest in areas that will stabilize the economy over the medium to long-term, with positive knock on effects on job creation and economic growth.
  12. Taken together, we cannot lose sight of the remarkable progress we have made since the pandemic. And I believe that in the months to come, our robust policy approach response will help to considerably ease the challenges with inflation and the exchange rate pressures.
  13. I am extremely confident about where we will land on this journey. We as a country have survived a 142 percent inflation, yellow-corn hysteria, mass exodus from our country and more recently a successful exit from the 2015 Extended Credit Facility. So let us go for the spirit of courage for the LORD is with this Nation. Let us not fear, for He who is with us is greater than all (2 Kings 6:16).

 

Conclusion

  1. Ladies and Gentlemen, I remind each and everyone that Ghana is the only place we have. Its progress and prosperity is our collective duty. We have overcome many challenges and risen to then occasion many times. This is another challenge which we must overcome. This too shall pass, if we remain united and purposeful.Letus not forget that the battle is indeed the Lord’s.
  2. As the Good Book said in Genesis 11:5 “if as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them”
  3. Thank you for your attention.
  4. God bless you, and God bless our country and make it great and strong

AG empowers RTI Commission to prosecute offenses under Act 989

By
JENNIFER AMBOLLEY
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Dignitaries present at the forum

The deputy Attorney-General, Diana Asonaba Dapaah, has disclosed that the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has granted prosecutorial powers to the Right to Information (RTI) Commission to enable it prosecute offences under Act 989.

Participants of the forum

The Act guarantees the General Public access to information from public institutions and relevant private bodies.

“The Attorney-General has granted prosecutorial powers to the RTI Commission to enable it to prosecute offences under Act 989. Our office has gone ahead to train staff of the Commission to build their capacities as prosecutors to successfully prosecute offences under the Act.”

The deputy Attorney- General made this known on behalf of the Attorney General yesterday, at the Commemoration of the Right to Information Week and the 2022 International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) under the theme: “Artificial Intelligence, E-Governance and Access to Information” yesterday, in Accra.

According to her, Ghana’s Right to Information Act 2019 (Act 989) shows that the lawmakers appreciated the importance of having citizens equipped with information and also to hold governments accountable, hence the robust forward-looking framework for Ghana’s access to information legislation which is in tune with international best practices.

The general lack of responsiveness of governmental institutions, she said, must be tackled, since for the implementation of the Act public institutions are mandated to designate an “Information Officer” who is to be responsible for the handling of requests for information.

“However, many public institutions are deficient in this role. Therefore, requests for information are unnecessarily delayed or worse, left unattended because there is no identified person responsible to deal with them. This ultimately impedes the work of users of that information such as journalists, individuals and civil society organizations” she disclosed.

This, she said it is important for agencies to establish information units or designate an employee tasked with ensuring the free flow of information to the public which ensures that the purpose of the Act is fulfilled.

The Executive Secretary of the RTI Commission, Yaw Sarpong Boateng Esq., in his address said the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot be overlooked in modern technological times as it offers an opportunity for stakeholders of right to information to focus deliberations on a dominant technological affect of our everyday lives.

“It has become paramount for institutions to employ the services of the internet in its policy scheming and operational management. Al certainly has a role to play in service delivery and helping facilitate work,” he added.

He further reinstated that the government must drive this nation towards the universal access to affordable electricity and internet service, which is the backbone of the digitization and the digitalization drive.

The Executive Secretary continued that the Right to Information Commission, being the regulator of access to information, has considered these modern technological changes and veered towards a system of work arrangement where the internet is largely used.

Why Is Asamoah Gyan leading jama spectators? –Sonnie Badu

By
NANA KWESI COOMSON
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Sonnie Badu and Asamoah Gyan

Pastor cum Gospel Artiste, Sonnie Badu, who is the founder and head pastor of Rockhill International Church has taken to social media to ask about the absence of former Blackstars skipper, Asamoah Gyan, from the camp of the team as they prepare for the FIFA World Cup 2022.

In a post on social media, the award-winning musician revealed that he could not understand why Asamoah Gyan was leading spectators in jama sessions rather than being at the camp of the Black stars camp at this critical point in time.

His remarks follow a video of Asamoah Gyan looking all hyper and singing a lot of jama songs on social media.

The ‘Wonder God’ hitmaker stressed that a lot of other teams have their senior players who have played key roles in their various teams in previous years working tirelessly with their present teams to help them succeed at the 2022 World Cup.

He concluded by asking the GFA to give Gyan a technical role which will shape the new crop of players because most of them probably watched him some time ago and admire him.

In the post, Sonnie Badu wrote: ‘Perhaps my opinion might cause a lot of problems. Nonetheless, someone must address it and so I will… WHAT IS ASAMOAH GYAN @asamoah_gyan3 doing leading “Jama” with spectators – when he is Ghana’s record holder of goals.

And even beats some of the top player like Henry on world cup goals .. Is he not allowed in the camp? Can he not be there to help the younger generations?

I am quite close to some of the @ng_supereagles players … When they are in the camp – you will see legends like: Kanu and JJ OKOCHA there with them. Why is Abedi Pele never around?

Why is Yeboah never around? What about John Mensah and John Painstil? Is the reason political? Well, any institution that plays politics can never progress…

All these young players in there use to play GYAN on FIFA … Get Djan to help shape them.. I apologize in advance if anyone is offended… #Blackstars is all we have and take pride in as a nation.’

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