Churches must bail gov’t out of economic crisis -NPP guru

Members of the high table at the launch of the Citizen's Coalition

Thirty-four Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and ten individuals have formed a coalition to fight against the unbearable social economic and governance challenges facing the country.

The CSOs include the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Ghana Centre for Democratic Development CDD-(Ghana), Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), IMANI Africa, Star-Ghana, Send Ghana, Trades Union Congress (TUC), Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) and OXFAM.

The individuals are Akoto Ampaw, Martin Kpebu, Samson Lardy Anyenini, Clara Kasser-Tay, Prof. Kwame Karikari, Prof. Manuh, Kingsley Offei, Kofi Abotsi, Prof. Godfred Bopkin and Abdulkarim Mahammand.

The group, which comes under the name ‘Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance’ said at its maiden press conference in Accra recently, that their formation was necessitated by the pressing and prevailing socio-economic and political difficulties facing Ghanaians.

A statement presented on behalf of the Coalition by the Director of WACSI, Nana Asantewa Afedzinu, was to the effect that the group’s interest covers a wide range of issues, including accountability and transparency, and youth employment and capacity building.

Others are living wage for working people, social economic equity, freedom of expression and dissent, respect of fundamental human rights, equitable distribution of social and economic resources, and gender equality and equity. One of the key areas the statement highlighted on was corruption in public places.

In respect of this, Mrs. Afedzinu stated that the Coalition found it disheartening how the current Auditor General had not been as vibrant as his predecessor, Daniel Domelovo, who was ousted after recovering GH¢66 million for the state through surcharges.

She warned that “if the Auditor General persists in ignoring his clear Constitutional mandate, affirmed by the Supreme Court, our Coalition will take the necessary action to ensure that he complies with the Constitution of Ghana.”

Mr. Afedzinu also commented with worry on corruption at the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), the Forestry Commission, and the wanton disregard by some public office holders to declare their assets. According to her, the current asset and liability disclosure regime of the country was too porous, hence, failed to project the ideas for which it was put in place.

She also seized the opportunity to welcome the inauguration of the board of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for the fight against corrupt politicians to be realised. The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyemang, was also called upon to deal promptly with a number of legacy cases handed over to him by Martin Amidu, his predecessor.

Mrs. Afedzinu stressed the need for the government to halt all negotiations towards the implementation of the Agyapa deal for a more thorough public engagement and scrutiny. She further added that the Coalition also welcomed the Speaker of Parliament’s ruling, which tasked the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and Finance to look into the Covid-19 funds.

The Coalition welcomed the passage into law of the Affirmative Action Bill, which had been on the shelf since 2011. “The Coalition will share with the people of Ghana our thoughts and demands on other pertinent issues, including the critical challenges with the economy (including youth unemployment), education, health, internal security and the potential threats of terrorism, among others. We shall also share with you a series of activities and engagements we have planned, so you join us to create the society and the Ghana we desire and deserve,” she said.

Peter Okoye hints of quitting P Square again after union

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July 6, 2022

Nigerian Singer, Peter Okoye, the twin and other half of P Square has left fans worried after he shared a tweet, stating that he is quitting.

The talented twin brothers, Peter and Paul Okoye clashed in 2017 and subsequently went their separate ways only to reconcile in November 2021, a reunion that received applause both on social and traditional media..

However, months after the applauded reunion, Peter Okoye in a recent tweet hinted at quitting while claiming to have done his best.

He went on to state that he will make an official announcement this weekend. The singer also promised to introduce someone else.

As it stands, it is unclear what and why he is quitting, leaving netizens speculating what it could be. As many point to the music group being what he means by quitting, others have admonished him not to harbor suicidal thoughts since some celebrities subtly announce their frustration in life this way.

In his words on Twitter:

“I am quitting! Would be Introducing someone else. Announcing it officially by the weekend! God bless y’all.”

“SAD! It’s been going on since last year! And I have done my best! And I am left with no choice than to Quit! Announcing official this weekend.”

Lasmid reveals strategy behind ‘Friday Night’ hit song

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July 6, 2022

Lasmid who currently has the biggest song in Ghana has revealed how he had the monster hit with ‘Friday Night’ single.

Officially known as Lasmid Owusu Nathaniel, the season 8 winner of the MTN hitmaker said he has recorded many songs that will be released with time.

Lasmid who credits Actor Kojo Nkansah Lilwin as an instrumental figure behind the groundbreaking of the ‘Friday Night’ song said his manager visited the Kumawood Actor with him and the reason for the visit was clear; “My manager told Kojo Nkansah Lilwin that we have more songs and want your honest feedback on them” Lasmid said.

“My Manager told Lilwin to give us good remarks about the song or a bad comment on them. After listening to the songs, he chose the ‘Friday Night’ song as his favourite and suggested that we video the listening session with him. So I performed the song whilst we were sitting down listening to the song and his reaction to the song made it go viral. Before the release of the song, people were already anticipating it” Lasmid shared his hit strategy.

Lasmid who has songs with Kofi Kinaata, Kuame Eugene and others is signed to Kaywa’s Highly Spiritual Music Label.

He has further revealed that growing up was quite tough for him as he had to struggle and go through a lot of challenges to get to where he is now. “Basically I take inspiration from everything happening around me provided it makes sense especially the streets because that’s where I grew up,” he said.

Kofi Kinaata shares thoughts on promoting music on TikTok

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July 6, 2022

The recent discussion in Showbiz sector has been how influential TikTok has become for music promotion in Ghana.

Kofi Kinaata has become the latest person to add his voice to the discussion. Although he supports the use of TikTok as a medium to promote songs, Kofi Kinaata believes its relevance might be threatened by the influencers who use the songs to make themselves popular instead of promoting them.

Kofi Kinaata explained that “no one should get me wrong. TikTok is not a bad place to promote one’s songs. We are in the digital age from which has come TikTok, a platform which is effective in pushing the works of musicians.”

“I think TikTok influencers are, however, not helping the purpose of the platform since they promote a song they are paid for. Thus content is not considered often. Setting the agenda for a song to trend rather becomes a priority,” he said.

The ‘Things fall apart’ crooner added that; “Making a hit song is like a fruit. It is not healthy when you force it to ripe. Instead of musicians promoting these songs organically, they turn to ‘short cuts’. They are forced to pay influencers to make their songs trend.”

“And the influencers also do it just for the cash so after a few months when another song is released, they take money to promote it too” Kofi Kinaata told Graphic in an interview which was monitored by The Chronicle.

“My music is very popular on TikTok and it is not because I paid any influencer to make videos for it to trend but ordinary people who appreciate my songs and creativity take up that challenge. When you have an influencer doing about seven videos for a song, it will definitely fly. It’s just like having a radio station play a song over and over again.”

“Eventually, it gets into the heads of people. Even if you don’t like it, you will come to love it because it has been ‘forced’ on you but the danger is that you will quickly grow tired of it,” he stated.

Rejoinder: over two million persons risk losing their jobs when NLA licenses a private operator to operate the lotto 5/90.

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July 6, 2022

The attention of the Management of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) has been drawn to a publication by 3news.com with the above-mentioned caption. The story also alleges some impropriety with the licensing of Private Lotto Operators (PLOs) by NLA.

Management of NLA would like to express its disappointment that a media house of your caliber would publish such a misleading story without giving NLA a right of response as the ethics of journalism requires.

We would therefore like to set the records straight in this rejoinder and expect that you give it the same prominence as you did with the initial story as the ethics of journalism stipulates.

VAG LOTTO

Management would like to state that NLA is exploring the possibility of digitalizing our VAG Game to increase revenue and keep honouring our contractual agreement with the Veterans Administration of Ghana (VAG).

In addition, Management has started deliberations together with the Board on building a game for VAG without it being a 5/90 so we can independently grow both games and increase revenue for us to honour our obligations with the Veterans Administration Ghana or the Military.

The NLA currently pays VAG a sum of One hundred and twenty thousand Ghana Cedis GHS 120, 000 every month. This is in addition to other auxiliary costs including medical, maintenance and travel fees paid annually. In March 2022, the Board and Management presented a cross-country vehicle and a cheque of Five hundred thousand Ghana cedis GHS 500,000.00 to VAG, all in fulfillment of the Authority’s obligations to VAG.

In spite of these, the VAG Game is not fetching the Authority enough money currently. We, therefore, believe going digital with the VAG Game as has been done with the Original 5/90 Game on the Point of Sale Terminal (POST) and Online, can rake in enough revenue to support our Veterans, support government and our Good Causes.

The Government has been heavily driving the digital agenda, hence many of the services rendered by State Institutions have gone digital. NLA is one of the few state intuitions yet to go digital.

Conservatively, NLA operated its games manually on paper and eventually automated its operations on Point of Sale Terminals. The dynamics of the times have therefore propelled us into the digital space. Currently, the Original 5/90 Game is operated both digitally and on the Point of Sale Machine. Upon his appointment to NLA, the Director-General, Mr. Samuel Awuku together with the Board of NLA renegotiated the contract renewal with our online Partner, KGL from Twenty five million Ghana cedis GHS 25,000,000.00 to Fifty-five million Ghana cedis GHS 55,000,000.00 to rake in more revenue for the Authority.

They also secured Two million Ghana Cedis GHS 2,000,000.00 for the Good Causes Foundation and an additional Three million Ghana Cedis GHS 3,000,000.00 as a Stabilization Fund to cushion our Lotto Marketing Companies (LMCs) and retailers, as we explore the gradual migration of going digital in our operations. Several engagements have also been held with the LMCs on this matter and they have been categorically assured that the NLA would not take any drastic measures without informing them.

It is therefore disingenuous on your part to create a perception that over two million people will be put out of their jobs when the Authority has been constantly engaging the leadership of the LMCs and the LMCs themselves. In any case is to curious to ask where the data of 2 million people are, and based on what available data?

PRIVATE LOTTO OPERATORS (PLOs)

The Board and Management of NLA in June licensed Private Lotto Operators. (PLOs) The Agreement, is valid for one year, from 1^st January 2022 to 31^st December 2022, and not from May to December as your article stipulated.

PLOs operating the 5/90 Game under the National Lotto Act 2006 (Act 722) are required to pay an amount of One million, five hundred thousand Ghana cedis GHS 1,500,000.00 while those operating under the Veterans Administration (VAG) Act 2012 (Act 844) would pay an amount of Five hundred thousand Ghana cedis GHS 500,000.00. Those who wish to operate both will pay an amount of Two million Ghana cedis GHS 2,000,000.00. These steps were taken to sanitize the lotto industry and rake in more revenue for the government as hitherto these PLOs paid no taxes to the government.

NLA in conjunction with the security services has since last year been conducting swoops nationwide to enforce the provisions in Act 722 and Act 844. The task force confiscated equipment and items and handed several people to the police. Thus, persons caught manufacturing, distributing, selling, or retailing lotto products and services without authorization from the National Lottery Authority have been found culpable under Act 722 and L.I. 1948 and sanctioned. These incidents have also been widely reported in the media thus the impression created by your article that NLA is not enforcing the rules is absolutely false.

CONCLUSION

The current Board and Management of NLA led by the Director-General, Mr. Samuel Awuku is focused on achieving its core mandate of raising revenue for national development and to continue delivering quality service to its valued patrons.

NLA generates revenue to support the government’s developmental agenda and the Consolidated Fund. In February 2022, NLA donated an amount of Ten Million GHS 10,000.000 to the Ministry of Finance in support of the YouStart Program.

NLA through the Good Causes Foundation has touched the lives of several communities, individuals and institutions nationwide in the areas of Education, Health, Youth and Sports Development and Arts and Culture, the pillars under which the Foundation operates. These are evident for all to see as they have been widely reported in the media.

We would want to place on record that today, NLA is one of the most vibrant state institutions that is contributing its quota to the development of the nation’s infrastructure and is committed to raising revenue for the state.

NLA is aware of the various steps taken by its detractors to tarnish its reputation and that of its members for personal and parochial gains. We believe that those persons involved are in league with some staff of NLA, as happens in most institutions, to look for supposed non-existent information that may tarnish the hard won reputation of the Board, Management and Staff of NLA.

We would like to assure the general public and our valued patrons that there is no such impropriety, as Management operates an open door policy that does not entertain any inappropriate behavior.

As an Authority, our paramount interest lies in maximizing revenue for government; that has always been our avowed aim and is the sole agenda at the heart of all our operations.

We believe that, all well-meaning Ghanaians, and especially our valued patrons as well as our sector Ministry, are living witnesses to the achievements of NLA in recent times under the leadership of our current Director-General, Mr. Samuel Awuku and Management is poised to achieve even greater heights. We therefore urge the general public to ignore any unfounded speculations.

SIGNED

MANAGEMENT

‘Broken heart doesn’t care if you’re a celebrity’ -Wendy Shay

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July 6, 2022

Heartbreaks are usually painful experiences most people dread often because of the emotional pain and heartache it comes with. No one wants to open up about such experiences for fear of being ridiculed by friends Heartbreaks are usually painful experiences most people dread often because of the emotional pain and heartache and family.

Musician Wendy Shay says heartbreaks are inevitable and no respecter of age, class, gender, etc.

“Broken heart is universal. It doesn’t know if you’re an artiste, star or whatever. It can happen to a man, it can happen to a woman,” she said.

In a recent video, she disclosed that she’s had her share of broken hearts.

The Ghanaian singer was speaking about her new song in a recent interview with Glitch Africa, where she revealed that her broken heart experience inspired the song.

“My new song ‘Survivor’ is a broken heart song, it’s a personal song to me,” she said. She also indicated that the piece has intentionally been tailored to empower women, especially those in abusive relationships.

“What really gingered this song was when I heard the death of the late Nigerian Gospel singer Osinachi. So I decided to do a song to empower women, especially those who are in abusive relationships,” she added.

Source: myjoyonline.com

We need a Secretary of Climate to help save the World

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July 6, 2022

Less than two weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, former President George W. Bush appointed Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge the first director of homeland security. The next fall, Congress acted to create a formal Department of Homeland Security. In the two decades since, the White House has had a secretary and department responsible for coordinating efforts to defend our country and overseeing our defense against future terrorist attacks.

Now, to defend our country against global warming, we need a secretary of climate in charge of a Department of Climate Security. This needs to be a 10-year position to insulate the would-be secretary from the petty politics of the day. Just as for education, housing and urban development, and any other major policy area covered by a cabinet secretary, climate change and America’s mitigation efforts are too important to not have a responsible secretary and department.

In recent years, we have seen the threats of climate change grow more daunting as emissions levels have climbed. Scientists warn average citizens and world leaders in vain as our planet passes one milestone after another.

Now that our atmosphere contains more climate-warming CO2 than at any point in human history, we cannot afford to wait any longer to have a unified approach to address the climate crisis. And we need a department and secretary that can face the challenge head-on, unbound by old rules that allow toxins and particulate matter to be regulated but let CO2 and methane spew into the atmosphere unabated.

The results of our nation’s fractured approach to the climate crisis are apparent: we have no federal climate policy. Goals for vehicle emissions, mass transit, electrification, and every other plan to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change are spread across various departments, agencies, branches of government, and the private sector. A Department of Climate Security could coordinate these efforts across agencies just as Homeland Security does for national security and counterterrorism.

At the state level, the climate regulatory patchwork is even more chaotic. California has famously set the strictest emissions standards for decades. Conservative states, on the other hand, try to pass laws protecting the fossil fuel industry and slowing the transition to renewable energy.

Like we saw with COVID, a fractured approach does not work when the enemy is airborne. The rule is the same whether it’s a virus or a greenhouse gas. When one county or state was lax with its safety protocols, a deadly virus was free to spread, unaware of jurisdictional boundaries. It’s no different when one state electrifies its vehicles while another doubles down on oil and gas.

In my state of Louisiana, this lack of direction on climate policy comes with a hefty price. Gas export terminals, the behemoths that the fossil fuel industry calls “LNGs,” are being built to pump, refrigerate, and ship planet-cooking methane gas. With a lifespan of a few decades, these terminals could continue to warm our air and seas past mid-century.

New terminals need to clear an environmental review process before their construction begins, but that process relies too much on old ways of thinking. Owners need to disclose how much their projects will pollute the air or disrupt local habitats, but climate is not at the center of the conversation. How could it be? If we had a department charged with moving the United States towards its climate goals and coordinating efforts across departments then how could permit applications for new fossil fuel facilities in the 21st century be taken seriously?

There’s no question that the U.S. needs to move to net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible, but so long as that effort is spread thin across multiple departments, progress will continue to move too slowly to save our planet from the worst effects of climate change. Let’s get unstuck, get serious, and appoint our first secretary of climate.

Source: newsweek.com

NYSC urges youth corps members to add value to host communities

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July 6, 2022

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has urged youth corps members posted to Borno to focus on ways to impact positively on their host communities.

The NYSC Coordinator for Borno, Mr Nura Umar, made the call during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Batch ‘B’ stream one orientation on Tuesday in Katsina state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NYSC members posted to Borno were being deployed to Katsina
for their three weeks orientation exercise.

The coordinator also urged them to concentrate and embark on their Community Development Services (CDS) projects
immediately for the development of their host communities.

According to him, such will give them the opportunity to impact positively on the lives of their host communities, especially in the area of education, health, water, among others.

Umar told the youth corps members that the scheme was collaborating with security agencies to protect them.

He announced that the NYSC members, comprising 469 females and 476 males, went through the COVID-19 screening
before having access to the camp, and they all tested negative.

He commended the Borno and Katsina state governments, security agencies and other stakeholders for the support
given them during the three weeks orientation.

In Kaduna State, Gov. Nasir El-Rufai, said the state government was passionate about the security of NYSC members and other citizens of the state.

El-Rufai said this on Tuesday in Kaduna at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Batch ‘B’ stream ‘I’ youth corps members’ orientation.

Credit: guardian.com

Terrorists did not enter church in Onitsha, Anambra; Police

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July 6, 2022