Aduana Stars striker Bright Adjei is confident of winning the Ghana Premier League goal king award at the end of the season.
On Monday, the 27-year-old scored for the Ogya lads in their 1-1 draw with Medeama SC at the Nana Agyeman Badu II Park.
Adjei’s goal was his 13th of the season in the league, tying him with third-placed Augustine Okrah, with Frank Etouga Mbella of Kotoko and Yaw Annor of Ashanti Gold occupying the first and second spots with 18 and 16 goals, respectively.
“Anything is possible with Ghana Premier League goal king. We have 7 games to go,” he told reporters after Monday’s match.
“I’m working hard to make sure God can grant me goals match after match. Things are very tough for us because look at Aduana, we are even struggling to score.”
Adjei has been named NASCO Player of the Month for February, and he will receive a 43-inch television set from Electroland Ghana Limited.
Inter Milan will welcome Empoli to San Siro on Friday evening knowing that a victory would see them move above bitter rivals AC Milan to the top of the Serie A table.
The home side are currently second in the division, two points behind leaders AC Milan, while Empoli sit down in 14th position, 11 points clear of the relegation zone.
Inter’s title hopes suffered a huge setback at the end of April when they went down 2-1 at Bologna, but the reigning champions managed to bounce back on May 1 by recording a 2-1 win over Udinese.
Simone Inzaghi‘s side are second in Serie A, two points behind leaders AC Milan, meaning that a victory on Friday would see them move to the top of the table, temporarily at least.
Indeed, AC Milan would have the chance to reclaim first position on Sunday when they head to Verona, and it is set to be a fascinating conclusion to the campaign in terms of the title race, with Inter’s final three league matches coming against Empoli, Cagliari and Sampdoria.
There is still a mathematical chance of Empoli being relegated, but it would take an extraordinary turn of events. Empoli have performed impressively on their travels, collecting 21 points from 17 games, which is a strong record, but they will certainly be the underdogs heading into Friday’s contest.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Genoa host Juventus
Dybala, Juventus
Genoa are set to play Juventus at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris on Friday in Serie A. Genoa come into this game on the back of a 1-0 loss to Marco Giampaolo’s Sampdoria in the league. Juventus, on the other hand, beat Andrea Soncin’s Venezia 2-1.
In 30 head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Juventus hold a clear advantage. They have won 21 games, lost four and drawn five.
Genoa are currently 19th in Serie A, three points behind 17th-placed Cagliari. They have lost four of their last five league games, but still stand a chance of avoiding relegation. However, a positive result against Juventus will not come easily.
Juventus, on the other hand, are fourth in the league, one point behind 3rd-placed Napoli. It has been a disappointing season for Massimiliano Allegri’s men, and it is clear that Juventus need to enjoy a strong summer transfer window if they are to challenge for the title next season.
Genoa are fighting for their lives towards the bottom of the table and are more than capable of picking up a positive result against Juventus. The Old Lady have been in strong form in recent weeks, though, and expect the visitors to shade a close contest on Friday night.
Credit: sportskeeda.com
Levante face Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad players
Levante‘s fight to escape the relegation zone in La Liga will continue on Friday evening when they welcome high-flying Real Sociedad to Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
The home side are currently bottom of the table, six points from the safety of 17th spot with four games left, while Real Sociedad sit sixth, five points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.
Levante have picked up four points from their last three league matches, but positive results from the teams around them means that they have dropped to the bottom of the table, boasting 26 points from 34 matches.
The Valencia-based outfit are now six points behind 17th-placed Cadiz with four games left, meaning that they will have to enjoy a brilliant end to the campaign to stand a chance of staying in the league, and there is no downplaying the importance of this match to their chances of staying in the league.
Real Sociedad, meanwhile, are chasing down fourth-placed Atletico in the table, currently sitting five points behind the capital giants in the race to secure Champions League football for next term.
More realistically, though, the Basque outfit are going to finish fifth or sixth, which would still represent a strong campaign, boasting a record of 15 wins, 11 draws and eight defeats from their 34 games to collect 56 points.
Real Sociedad’s away form in La Liga this season has been mixed, collecting 24 points from 17 matches, but they will be taking on a Levante side with the second-worst home record in Spain’s top flight this term.
Levante are in desperate need of the points to stay in the league and will have to attack Real Sociedad on Friday night. Under normal circumstances, we would be backing a draw here, but Levante will have to go for it, and we can see the visitors picking up all three points courtesy of a narrow success.
A justice of the Court of Appeal, Sir Dennis Adjei, has advised the general public not to pay money to the Police when being granted bail. According to Justice Sir Adjei, bail is free and that any attempt by a police officer to collect money before giving bail, will amount to bribery and corruption, and the sentence could vary from 12 to 25 years imprisonment.
He said the punishment is very dire because it is unlawful for any public officer to collect money before discharging his or her duty. The Court of Appeal Judge further warned that since the giver of bribe is equally guilty as the taker, the public must be wary of the offence and should avoid falling victim.
“…because I’m asking you to come and stand surety and because I’m telling you that go home and come to court at the next available date then pay so much. What item are you selling? If there is no item you are selling, there cannot be price for it. So bail is for free.
“If any person charge for bail, the person commits criminal offence and all of us (judges) are public officers. So if a police man takes money for bail, it amounts to corruption,” he emphasised.
Justice Sir Adjei said this while lecturing journalists, on the theme, “Understanding Ghana’s Criminal Justice and Reforms, the Impact on National Development” at a day’s workshop organised by Perfect or of Sentiments (POS) Foundation, in collaboration with the Judicial Service of Ghana and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) in Accra, yesterday.
Sir Dennis Adjei also added that the Police have no right to detain any suspect beyond 48 hours and that the days bail was used as a means of punishment are gone. The justice explained that the 48 hours include weekends and statutory holidays, since the courts now sit on weekends and judges are ready to sit when called to duty, saying “keeping people on weekend and holidays as punishment is now a thing of the past.”
His Lordship could not fathom why in 1969, the law allows only 24 hours detention after arrest, but 48 hours is not enough in this contemporary time, where access to vehicles and other facilities are available for justice delivery. He also spoke against the act whereby the Police will send suspects to court that has no jurisdiction over a matter.
The Judge indicated that juvenile cases must be tried within a period of six months else the minor involved must be given unconditional discharge, while those found culpable of the offence are not to be imprisoned, but sent to correctional centres for three years maximum. In an address read on behalf of the Director-General of Prisons Service (PS), Mr Isaac Kofi Egyir, he indicated that 59 inmates of the Nsawam Medium Security Prison were matriculated into various diploma programmes by the University of Cape Coast.
He added that 273 of the prison inmates had gained admission to Senior High School, 1,320, National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) and 584, Junior High School, bringing the total to 2,236. Mr Egyir added that despite the strides being made, the prisons are still overcrowded.
The Director-General commended the effort of POS Foundation and that the Justice for All Programme has witnessed a decline in the number of remand prisoners from 72.42% in 2007 to 35.11% as September 2021. Executive Director of POS Foundation, Jonathan Osei Owusu, suggested that community service should replace some of the custodial sentences.
The Executive Director of Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), Commissioner of Police (COP) Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, has noted that the fight against economic crime would be difficult to accomplish without effective information.
“Every crime prevention, crime investigation, crime detection depends on the information that we have. Those people who do bad things, they live with us. We attend church with them; we go to market with them. Some of them we know very well. The public must give such information to either EOCO or police or to any law enforcement agency so that we all work together and ensure that we get to them and stop them from doing it in the first place,” she said.
Maame Tiwaa was speaking during a day’s official working visit to the Eastern Regional capital, Koforidua on Friday, last week. The visit to the region was the first since she was appointed by President Akufo-Addo on January 5, 2022.
She paid a courtesy call on the Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Acheampong, Head/Tax Payers Service Centre of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Dr Okine, National Investigation Bureau (NIB) Regional Commander and others.
COP Maame Yaa Tiwaah Addo-Danquah expressed her appreciation and gratitude for the massive support she received from the Ghana Police Service and other institutions since her appointment.
Receiving Maame Tiwaa and her entourage to his office, the Eastern Regional Minister congratulated her on her new appointment and for being the first female Executive Director of EOCO.
Speaking to the media after a closed-door meeting, Seth Acheampong indicated that no single individual or institution can achieve a set goal unless they work together as a team.
He added that working together would help each institution achieve its mandate.He promised the Executive Director of EOCO of his readiness to assist the Eastern Regional Office – EOCO in any endeavour.
He also expressed his gratitude to MaameTiwaa and her entourage for the visit and that it will go a long way to deepen and sustain the relationship between their offices.
The Eastern Regional Director of EOCO, Elizabeth Amonoowa Buckman on her part reiterated their commitment towards making Ghana a safe haven for investors and the business community.
According to her, EOCO could only carry out its duty of crime investigation, prosecution and prevention if it has public support.She told the media that receiving crucial information about criminal intents, plans, and activities was enough to prevent them from committing crimes. The Office has the authority of the Attorney General to prosecute economic and organized crimes cases.
With offices in the regional capitals, members of the public can report crime by showing up physically at the offices or online.
“The mandate of EOCO is very broad – not only to detect, prevent and confiscate the proceeds of crime into government coffers but on the advice of the Attorney General can prosecute the offender,” she said.
“As part of our effort to meet our set target for the year 2022, small and medium shop owners are being educated on the need to pay personal income tax and corporate tax for more development by the government. The Eastern Regional Office of EOCO would continue to move out more to ensure that all personal and corporate tax liabilities are paid to GRA. The tax monitoring exercise on hostels, small and medium shops has indeed yielded a positive result,” she stated.
Three members of the Minority Caucus in Parliament have failed to halt the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy Act, (E-levy), which came into force on Sunday, May 1, 2022. The applicants were given a flat tyre in a 7-0 decision by the Supreme Court yesterday, May 4, 2022.
The three Members of Parliament (MPs) who filed an interlocutory injunction in respect of the implementation of the E-levy are Haruna Iddrisu, Tamale South constituency, Mahama Ayariga, Bawku Central constituency, and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, North Tongu constituency.
The apex court made up of seven-panel of justices – Nene Amegatcher (President), Mariama Owusu, Ashie Kotey, Getrude Torkornoo, Lovelace Johnson, Emmanuel Yoni Kulendi, and Henrietta Mensah Bonsu – unanimously dismissed the injunction application.
The MPs had wanted to stop the government from implementing the levy ahead of the determination of an earlier motion they have filed at the Supreme Court to challenge the passage of the E-Levy Bill on March 29.The Minority MPs are contending that the composition of the House at the time of passing the law did not meet the threshold per the apex court’s decision in the case of Justice Abdulai versus Attorney-General.
The Court in the Justice Abdulai V. Attorney-General case held that the constitutional quorum number for decision-making and voting in Parliament is 138. The applicants insist the House was in short of two members to constitute the quorum.
Nonetheless, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has already started the mobilization of the 1.5% on mobile money and other electronic cash transfers.The Supreme Court, however, has ordered the GRA to keep accurate records of all E-levy revenues to enable a refund to payees if it is later determined that the law was passed unconstitutionally.
The Akufo-Addo government says though it acknowledges the caution not to compare 2021 and 2022 world press freedom rankings, it remains focused on building collaboration among stakeholders to improve Ghana’s rankings in the new model.
Publishers of the ranking announced they have employed a new methodology, which moved Ghana to 60th in the global ranking for 2022 cautioning against a year on year comparison.
The new methodology takes into account a quantitative survey of press freedom violations and abuses against journalists and media, and a qualitative study based on the responses of hundreds of press freedom experts selected by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), which includes journalists, academics and human rights defenders.
However, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, argues that the government acknowledges that a lot more needs to be done by stakeholders to ace Ghana’s rankings on the new model.
Contributors to Ghana’s new rank include attacks by Ada youth on radio Ada, arrests of people publishing fake news by the Police and manhandling of a Citi FM journalist at a National Security facility.
According to Mr Nkrumah, it is important to step up the country’s response by better educating state agencies and the public to relate better with journalists even when they disagree with their works.
Already, government has supported the National Media Commission (NMC) to establish an office for the Coordinated Mechanism on the Safety of Journalists. This, the Minister said, the newly created office needs more support and attention to succeed at its work.
Government through the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme (MCEP) is providing training for some 250 journalists on emerging issues in journalism. It forms part of collaborative efforts by stakeholders in the media industry like the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and media umbrella bodies to support the sector, which has been challenged in recent times.
Government is also collaborating with stakeholders including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in deepening education for state and non-state actors on the safety of journalists. This is in addition to the numerous support government lends out to media associations including media owners to improve the working and economic conditions of journalists.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) says the promise made by former President John Mahama to abolish the E-Levy if elected in 2024 is a scam. According to the party, the opposition leader and his NDC party cannot be trusted to move the country towards prosperity.
Addressing a news conference in Accra yesterday, the national communications director of the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, noted that “Just like the one-time premium and the repeal of talk tax that John Mahama and his NDC promised, but failed to implement when they were in power, this promise is just a political talk.”
“In any event, can John Mahama explain the difference in his 17.5% tax on financial transactions and his manifesto pledge to impose a uniform tax on all electronic transactions? Are these measures E-Levy in disguise and does he stand by them?” he asked.
“If we reflect deeply, we will accept as the records show, that significant change to our political institutions and conduct, economic structure and management and positive social impact, has mostly happened under the NPP’s watch.”
“Many very significant national reverses occurred under the six years of John Mahama’s Presidency. He has since been rejected twice in elections. It’s possible his recent address is motivated by self-preservation towards his continued leadership of the NDC into 2024, given that both insiders and external observers are writing him off,” he said.
He added: ‘Under John Mahamas’ leadership, Ghana will slip backwards into chaotic incompetence. Just like his autobiography tells all, he cannot take decisions. As he says in his book, he will ride this country like a bicycle, out of control and dangerously downhill, merely hopeful of survival.
“The 2024 presidential election is expected to be about two choices: whether we choose to build on the significant gains so far made under President Akufo-Addo with a new presidential candidate from the NPP who comes with his or her own fresh ideas as well or to choose the candidate the NDC are threatening to bring back, John Dramani Mahama.”
The Paramount Chief of Dormaa Traditional Area in the Bono region, Osagyefo Oseadeyo Dr Agyeman Badu II, has, according to a story we have carried at our business page today, proposed payment of stipends to Assembly Members representing the people at the local level. Oseadeyo Agyemang Badu, who is the President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, believes it is time the government considered paying assembly members across the country to enable them serve the people better.
“I’m appealing to President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia whom we have entrusted our resources, to consider such a worthy call. I’ll take it upon myself and write to the presidency for our Assembly Members who do chunk of the work at the local level to be paid”, he said.
Oseadeyo Agyemang Badu, apart from being one of the respected chiefs in the country, is also a High Court Judge. We, nevertheless, disagree with his proposal that assembly members should be paid. Already we are all crying that just 700,000 out of 31 million Ghanaians on the government payroll are consuming over 60% of revenues we generate in this country.
Our checks indicate that Ghana currently has 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). If each of these assemblies has 15 members, we are talking about 3,915 that are going to be added to the payroll and this is even on the lowest side. Apart from their salaries, these assembly members upon employment are also going to demand payment of ex-gratia among other fringe benefits from the state. The bid question then is: can our struggling economy sustain this?
Framers of the law anticipated this and, therefore, suggested that assembly members should not be paid and that their work should be a voluntary one. In other words, assembly work should not be a permanent job for the assembly members. They should, however, be paid allowances anytime they attend meetings.
This is what the law says, but we have even gone beyond this to start buying motorbikes as a reward to assembly members who successfully complete the tenure of office. In our opinion, this should be enough reward for the assembly members. There is already an enormous pressure on our scarce national resources and nothing should be done to exacerbate the situation.
Available information indicates that some of the assemblies cannot even generate enough domestic revenue to pay their staff. Some even rely on the Common Fund for their recurrent expenditures. In the face of all these challenges, Osagyefo Oseadeyo Dr Agyeman Badu II is suggesting that we should pay the assembly members? No sir, we disagree! The status quo, in our candid opinion, should remain.
We should not open the floodgates for every unemployed Ghanaian to start putting pressure on the central government for employment. That will certainly bring the national economy to its knees.
Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Deputy Minister for Energy, has told investors in faraway USA that Ghana’s petroleum fiscal regime is investor friendly and that it offers higher returns to investors. He has, therefore, urged them to take advantage of the favourable petroleum market environment and invest in Ghana.
Speaking at an investment forum on the side-lines of this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Texas, USA, where world’s elite energy professionals met, Dr Adam said “our petroleum fiscal regime is investor friendly offering higher returns to investors, the licensing regime is transparent, and provides investor certainty and flexibility.”
He mentioned Ghana was aspiring to become a hub for refined petroleum products and petrochemicals in the West African sub-region and that there were numerous petroleum downstream opportunities available for grab.
“Government has, therefore, designated a free zone area for the development of petroleum and petrochemical refineries, storage, and transportation facilities for the export of products to largely African markets. This requires collaboration with the private sector to achieve the objectives of the Hub,” he emphasized.
The Deputy Minister for Energy further stated that government established the Ghana Petroleum Hub Corporation, which was necessitated by investors’ demands for removal of ‘regulatory fatigue, red tapes and long times in project development’.
That, he said, was to facilitate the issuance of permits and licenses to potential investors “and to play a rapid response role in addressing the challenges investors encounter in delivering on projects.” In a related development, Deputy Minister for Energy, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam in a brief ceremony, officially opened Ghana’s pavilion at the OTC, at the NRG Park in Houston Texas.
The OTC, an annual event, provides energy professionals with the opportunity to meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters and has expanded technically and globally with the Arctic Technology Conference, OTC Brasil, and OTC Asia.
Volta Regional Minister addressing workers on May Day
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa has commended Ghanaian workers for their services and commitment to work. According to him, the government recognises the role of traders, seamstresses and tailors, artisans , drivers , private sector workers civil and public service staff among others as they work to ensure that the country live up to its full potential.
Addressing the 2022 Volta regional celebration of Organised Labour at the regional capital Ho, the Regional Minister lauded the choice of the theme for the celebration, ‘’Protecting Jobs And Incomes In The Era of COVID-19 Pandemic And Beyond’’ stressing that the theme was more appropriate because the country had recently started recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
The Regional Minister noted that COVID-19 did not only lead to the loss of lives, but also affected negatively the economy of the country.
According to the minister, in governments attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19, businesses were affected, some workers laid off.
He noted that economic growth of the country was truncated and budget deficit increased during the pandemic but in the midst of all these challenges, the President demonstrated high level of commitment towards protecting the livelihood of the people.
The Minister further told the gathering that the country had come out of the woods, however the ravages of the pandemic on the economy are being seen and recognized by all.
The Regional Minister said the government was working closely with the people of Ghana for the rebound of the economy. He stressed that the persistent determination of the government to reverse the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 in order to protect jobs, create more employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors and to improve on the physical infrastructure of the country was being followed.
Dr Letsa assured the people of the region that the government was committed to improving the working conditions of all workers especially those in the public sector, which included remuneration of workers and that steps were being taking to have the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) reviewed.
The Acting Volta Regional Secretary of Organised Labour, Mr Gordon Bodza noted that the high economic situation in the country, which contributed to the cost of living was making life extremely difficult for workers. In his view therefore, it was prudent for the government to increase salary of workers to enable them to withstand the hardship.
Mr. Bodza observed that numerous International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes did not help the country and the partisan approach to dealing with the country’s problems was also not working. To him, the country adopted what he called ‘home grown solutions’ supported by all the major players in the economy including the Executive, Parliament, Judiciary and workers among others.
