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Franklin Cudjoe, Founding President of Imani Africa says the review of the Agyapa deal and the Aker Energy/ Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) agreement in the 2022 budget is a good step to dealing with vexed issues.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has revealed that government has officially written to parliament to make modifications on the 2022 budget.
He said this during a press briefing to explain into details the 2022 Annual Budget Statement as part of the Ministry’s post budget sensitisation activities.
“With regards to Agyapa Royalties Ltd, we shall amend paragraphs 442 and 443 to take out references to mineral royalties collateralisation. It is important to note that, any reference to Agyapa was for informational purposes, and as such was not reflected in the fiscal framework,” Ken Ofori Atta said.
Reacting to the amendment in a Facebook post, Franklin Cudjoe said it was a good first step to dealing with the vexed issues in these agreements.
Franklin Cudjoe added that he hopes there would be an emphatic statement on the E-levy, beyond consultation with the Minority and a clarification on agency fees for collecting same.
“I have read the Finance Minister’s statement on the 2022 budget. The part on Agyapa and Aker deals are a good first step to dealing with the vexed issues. We will watch the space.
“I had hoped there would be an emphatic statement on the E-levy, beyond consultation with the Minority and a clarification on agency fees for collecting same. Admittedly, we are in the hardest of times with a debt overhang so perilous that girding our collective loins seems inescapable.
“The Minority should continue discussing with government, but charity begins with the government- at least reduce the budget to the office of government machinery by 25%. It can help build a few school blocks. Carpe diem.” Franklin Cudjoe said in Facebook post.
The Bishop of Koforidua Anglican Diocese, Rt. Rev. Felix Annancy, has called for a reduction in the 1.75% e-levy captured in the 2022 budget.
According to him, the 1.75% levy is too high for the citizenry hence the need to review it downwards.
The Bishop made the statement in Koforidua in the the Eastern during the ordination ceremony of four Reverend Ministers.
The four Ordained ministers received their training, skills from the St. Nicolas Theological Seminary.
The Ordained ministers are; Dr. Rev. Isaac Acheampong, Rev. Adolf Kwame Frimpong, Rev. Louis Asare and Rev. Yeboah Adjei – Twum.
The ordination is the first step in the ministry as deacons to read, pray and administer holy communion.
But speaking on the sidelines of the colourful occasion, the Bishop said the budget is to guide, protect and finance projects in the country in the coming year.
He lamented that the 1.75% E- Levy was high and must be looked at again.
He added that, the 2022 budget is a cheap way of making money to supplement others .
He, therefore, appealed to the government to create employment for the people to enable them pay tax.
One of the ordained ministers, Rev. Dr. Isaac Acheampong Sarfo, also a clinical psychologist at the Eastern Regional Hospital, said they will champion the course of winning souls for Christ.
He added that, the world is confronted with numerous challenges, especially the abuse of the scriptures, but believes that men of God must come together to save the world.
The President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, H.E. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, has pledged his country’s commitment to a “strategic engagement and partnership with Ghana” as the two countries work together to improve the lives of their citizens.
President Ali, who was speaking at a State Dinner in honour of Ghana’s visiting Vice President, H.E. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on Sunday, 5th December, 2021 in Georgetown, Guyana, emphasized that the Guyana-Ghana partnership was “not one of the usual engagements or talks”, but one to which both countries had laid out clearly defined expected outcomes.
“We are very excited about this strategic partnership; it is receiving attention from the highest levels of Government. On the sidelines of the recent UN General Assembly meeting, we held bilateral meetings with Ghana President H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo and within weeks, a timetable to design and achieve a framework for strategic cooperation was in place. Within weeks our Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo was in Ghana. And just weeks after, Ghana’s Vice President is here to further work on the framework.
“This is a sign of concrete progress, and we will continue to engage and agree on practical steps and develop policies for the mutual benefit of our two countries” President Ali said, to applause from the audience, which included the Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Heads of the security agencies, Ministers of State, captains of Industry and some Ghana government officials.
Recalling the uncanny similarities in the histories of the two countries, Vice President Bawumia, who is on a three-day working visit to Guyana less than two months after his Guyanese counterpart, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo led a delegation to Ghana, promised “rigorous, open and mutually beneficial” discussions between Ghana Government officials and private sector leaders with their Guyanese counterparts, with the ultimate aim of knowledge-sharing and improved livelihoods for their citizens
“Ghana and Guyana have long, historic ties. We are both robust democracies, have similar natural resources, and science tells us that we were all part of one continent until the continental shelves broke apart and drifted away. Our histories are very similar as well, and our bonds are very strong. This, I believe, forms the basis for a lasting partnership as we work together to design and put in place measures that position us as masters of our own destinies.”
During the three-day visit, Vice President Bawumia is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with the President and senior officials of Guyana, meet with the leadership of the University of Guyana to among others, explore ways for capacity building, participate in a forum of the Ghanaian and Guyanese private sector, meet with the Ghanaian community in Guyana, and witness the signing of a framework agreement between Ghana and Guyana.
Member of Parliament for the Ketu South constituency, Dzifa Gomashie, has responded to the comments by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on Keta coastal project.
About 300 households and over 3,000 residents at Keta lost their properties and others have been rendered homeless as a result of tidal wave that happened on Sunday 7th November 2021.
The affected communities include Kedzikope, Keta Central and Abutiakope.
In a latest development, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has revealed that government has officially written to parliament to make modifications on the 2022 budget.
On the Keta tidal wave, Ken Ofori Atta said government was making the necessary budgetary allocations of at least GH¢10 million to complete the feasibility and engineering studies for the coastal communities adversely affected.
“We will broaden the scope of the study to consider a more comprehensive solution to protect Ghana’s 540 kilometre of coastline, including the 149 kilometres between Aflao and Prampram. Meanwhile, NADMO has responded to the humanitarian crisis created by the tidal waves on the Keta coastline,” he added.
Commenting on the statement by Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta, Member of Parliament for the Ketu South constituency, Dzifa Gomashie, noted that it was obvious the Finace Minister was referring to the other coastal belt in Ghana and not Keta.
According to her, there is an existing feasibility study report on the situation and that government doesn’t need one if it wants to find a lasting solution to the tidal wave situation in the area.
“ I don’t think the Finance Minister was referring to Keta, because we already have a feasibility study report available and i am sure Ken Ofori Attah is aware. We have already started with the phase one and we want government to help out with phase 2. We do not need a feasibility report,” Member of Parliament for the Ketu South constituency Dzifa Gomashie told Kaakyire Ofori Ayim.
Staff members of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) and for that matter Ghanaians have been urged to put to profitable use their God-given talents/gifts and not bury them.
The President of the Eastwood Anaba Ministries (EAM), Rev. Joseph Eastwood Anaba, who made the call on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, (day two of the 2021 Annual Thanksgiving Service of JGC), said just as God gave gifts or resources to the slothful, He equally gave same to the Executive Chairman of JGC, Dr Joseph Siaw-Agyepong, who has largely excelled in his God-given talent.
The five-day thanksgiving service is themed: “My Worship, My Weapon, His Glory” – 2nd Chronicles 20:22.
Rev. Eastwood Anaba said slothfulness in life attracts rebuke, retrieval and rejection adding that “a slothful and failing servant vents his frustration on others, which makes such a person impolite and insolent.”
Failures in life could be impolite and impolite people are insolent and indolent, he added.
According to him, indiscretion and impatient were evident as testaments of a failing servant.
Rev Eastwood Anaba thus challenged the staff members of JGC to see possibilities in everything, insisting that God gave each one of us talent as He did same to Dr Siaw Agyapong.
“What is possible in Jospong is equally possible in every home”, he said. He advised the workers against burying their God-given talents stressing that out of same lied greater results.
Quoting from the book of Matthew 25, he said God in His infinite wisdom gave talents to some servants of which the first who received five doubled them while the second also received two.
However, he said the third who received one, hid his talent and never put it to any good use.
“The master upon returning from a journey rebuked this servant who received one talent and did nothing with it,” he narrated.
He said out of the 17 verses, Jesus dedicated 7 to address the slothful, adding that “Slothful and failing servants attribute their failures to others rather than themselves”.
Rev. Anaba noted that a slothful person faces retrieval of talents and therefore encouraged mankind to put their talents to good use.
For his part, the Executive Chairman, JGC, Dr. Jospeh Siaw Agyapong, recounted that during his early days when he was operating a printing press business nothing seemed to be working for him.
“It was at that moment that I resolved to go to Begro and seek the face of the Lord and there I had a dream. I later travelled to China and saw tricycles collecting refuse. I then purchased one and later 300 then I acquired four plots of land at the Group’s current location which is our headquarters.”
…In all our understanding of doing things, God has a way in it. Looking at the life span of this business which has footprints in all 260 districts across the country shows that it was made possible by only God”, he testified.
The gathering was thrilled by award-winning Gospel Minister, Ms Diana Hamilton, with her aesthetic voice empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Some Drivers who were arrested for blocking roads during the sit-down strike by commercial drivers will appear before court today December 7 2021.
The Police arrested some of the protesting drivers in Ablekuma, a suburb of Accra.
This was after the protesting drivers allegedly blocked the roads in the area, causing traffic congestion.
Scores of commuters were left stranded as the Coalition of Commercial Transport Owners yesterday, 6th December 2021 embarked on a strike to protest taxes on fuel.
The strike forms part of measures to compel the government to scrap some taxes on fuel to enable reduction at the pumps.
According to the Coalition, the government for the past two weeks has failed to heed to their calls for some taxes to be scrapped off hence the decision to embark on the sit-down strike.
The sit-down-strike by commercial transport owners was, however, suspended hours after it started.
“The intended strike which was scheduled to tale of today Monday December 6, 2021 has been suspended. The leadership of the Union had been invited to the Presidency during the course of the day. Developments will be communicated,” a statement form the GPRTUC said.
Speaking to host of Atinka FM’s AM Drive, Kaakyire Oofri Ayim, the Director for Public Affairs for the Ghana Police, Superintendent Alexander Obeng noted that the drivers took the laws into their own hands and that the laws will deal with them accordingly.
He noted that although they had the right to protest, they did not have the right to violate the public order act.
“ These drivers violated the public order act and they have been arraigned for court. If you are protesting, it does not mean you have to prevent someone else form using the road. The Drivers were arrested and they will appear before court today,” , Superintendent Alexander Obeng added.
The Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG, has closed down its Somanya operational office effective this December 2021, and has opened a new office at Juapong from where staff in the defunct office will henceforth operate until the ECG-Klo impasse is settled.
The move according to management has become imperative given the security threats staff are susceptible to as a result of the seemingly unending feud between the company and customers in the Klo land.
The General Manager of the ECG, Kwame Agyeman Budu, at a presser in Tema said given the environment stemming from the misunderstanding, it is not advisable to allow staff work from that office any longer.
“I will not jeopardise the lives of my staff and allow them to continue to work from that office until the issue is peacefully and amicably dealt with” he opined.
Mr. Budu was, however, quick to add that, closure of the Somanya office is not a punishment to the people of Klo, neither is it a substitute for the newly opened Juapong office, saying operationalization of the new office has been long overdue.
Touching on the SHEP metres which is one of the two major factors that occasioned the present development, the ECG MD hinted that the SHEP metres project since 2017 has unlike previously passed through the company and this is to avert situations where ECG struggles to locate these metres that were not installed by the company resulting in revenue losses.
Mr. Budu reiterated that, there is, has never been any memorandum of understanding between ECG and Klo people exempting them from electricity bills payment 50 years after the Akosombo hydro station has been commissioned.
The Tema Regional Manager of ECG, Engineer Emmanuel Akinie, on his part placed it on record that the ECG has not disconnected the people of Klo, but has closed the Somanya one to ensure the safety of staff, as residents would have to transact business from the new office at Juapong. Ing. Akinie responding to a question of the company’s inability to retrieve its debt and losing out on revenue by closing the office said, the prime concern of ECG currently is the lives of its staff members and any other consideration is secondary.
Residents of Yilor and Manya Klo attacked the ECG office at Somanya in 2017 and vandalised some properties in protest against over billings which according to ECG arose out of the deployment of SHEP metres and introduction of a new billing system which developed some fault initially.
According to ECG, with the help of PURC, a resolution was arrived at to ring-fence 2014 to 2017 accumulated bills which were in dispute to allow for further investigations, while the customers pay bills of consumed power from 2018 which are not in contention.
However, the people say ECG has reneged on about 90 percent of agreements reached out of the stakeholders’ engagements, one of which is to annul the 2014-2017 bills entirely which ECG says it cannot do.
That, coupled with the process to commence the deployment of smart prepaid metres in the Klo land as being done in other category ‘A’ areas of the Tema ECG has triggered the issue.
Management of ECG however pledged its readiness for further dialogue to bring finality to the issue.
You recall that a man allegedly killed his girlfriend and kept the body in the refrigerator in the Volta Region.
According to reports, neighbours of the suspect, whose name was then given as Frank at Ho-Fiave reported to the police of a suspected murder when they observed a strong stench emanating from the suspect’s room while flies hovered around his windows and doors.
Upon receiving a call on 22/11/2021 about 9:00am, the police who rushed to the scene broke into the room and found the girlfriend of the said tenant, known as Lizzy dead in a double-decker refrigerator.
At this point, the tenant, Frank was nowhere to be found.
An investigative team proceeded to the scene and after careful inspection of the crime scene, the body which was at an advanced state of decomposition in a white double-decker refrigerator was conveyed to the Ho Municipal Hospital morgue awaiting autopsy.
In a latest development, the suspect who is still on the run has also been identified as Frank Fiagbedzi.
It has been established that his mother is from Agortime Kpetoe in the Volta region while his mother is from Togo.
The police has since contacted the Zambian High Commission who are preparing to take custody of the corpse and bury it.
While they do so, they are also making efforts to contact her family in Zambia.
The success of the growing strategic partnership between the governments and peoples of Ghana and Guyana would hinge to a very large extent on the productive participation of the private sector, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has stated.
Addressing a joint consultation meeting between government officials, captains of industry and other private sector players from Ghana and Guyana in Georgetown, Guyana on Monday, 6th December 2021, Vice President Bawumia indicated that though trade between the countries has historically not been very high due to varied reasons, the recent upsurge in economic growth in the respective economies has provided the enabling environment for the private sector to enhance commercial ties between the two countries.
“It is our expectation therefore that the private sector through an innovative approach would partner with government to create sustainable growth by focusing on the pillars of development for economic prosperity.
“There is an economic imperative, at this momentous occasion in our relation for the two countries to broaden the scope of our engagements given the commonalities and the synergies in our economics. Areas of possible collaboration include Oil and Gas, Petrochemical sector, Agro-processing and Agriculture, Education, Mining (extractive sector) and Tourism.
“The Ghana Government welcomes the increasing collaboration between private sector operators from the two countries aimed at identifying potential investments and addressing the persistent trade imbalances in our ties.”
Some of the strategies the two governments may deploy in the meantime to boost cooperation include exchange of trade missions, workshops and seminars and linkages with the business community and other financial services to create the necessary incentives for attracting private equity in Education, Infrastructure and Energy for socio-economic development, Dr Bawumia, who is on a three-day official visit to Guyana, said.
“The private sector should also promote entrepreneurial activity and interaction between universities and companies through innovation in research which all growth depends on, as well as other market instruments such as credit and economic subventions, and direct investments in health and fintech developing technology solutions.”
Another important area requiring urgent attention is the issue of connectivity between the two countries, the Vice President noted.
“For us to realise this commercial objective of promoting trade and investments between our two countries, it is crucial that the private sector should support the Air Services agreement between Ghana and Guyana designed to improve air connectivity between countries in Africa and South America. It is expected that the private sector or airlines will be able to fly without any restrictions to the desired destinations to promote connection between the two Continents. One of the strategies to be adopted by both sides is to embark on a promotional drive to sensitise the business community about the potential benefits associated with sustainable air linkages in one of the largest aviation projects in the world.”
Also speaking at the event, the President of Guyana, H.E. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana emphasized that the strategic partnership was being facilitated at the highest levels of government, and assured the private sector of a speedy resolution of any challenges they might face.
“This Forum is a clear indication that the private sector of the two countries will be the engine for this strategic partnership. It is the beginning of the process to integrate our people, the private sector and find common ground to examine common opportunities, build common strategies, and how to make use of them.
“This not a simplistic, business engagement. It is about bridging the divide, expanding and creating markets and new opportunities, sustaining industry and building capacity. It is a People-to-People engagement for shared prosperity, based on actionable measures. The high level representation here, from Guyana and Ghana, means red tape and bureaucracy will be removed. This is an opportunity to have direct and meaningful conversations, and I urge you all to make good use of the opportunities.
“You have two governments ready to engage and work with you. Let us combine the power of our partnership and seize the opportunity to be dynamic, global players,” he urged.
A police officer in Kenya shot dead his wife and five other people with an AK-47 in the early hours of Tuesday morning, officials have said.
A neighbour heard “a loud bang” from the officer’s home at 01:00 local time, according to a police report.
The policemen then went on what officials are calling a “shooting spree” in Kabete, near the capital, Nairobi, killing five others.
The officer later took his own life, a police statement said.
The motive behind the killings is unclear, but police said the couple had been feuding, according to the AFP news agency.
“We are told that the couple had issues and were quarrelling before,” police chief Francis Wahome told AFP.
The policeman, who the authorities have identified as Police Constable Benson Imbasi, “started shooting at innocent members of the public frenziedly” after killing his own wife, who they have called Carol, the police report said.
Two motorcycle taxi drivers were among the other victims. Two other people were injured and are receiving hospital treatment.
In other news: Many inmates feared dead in Burundi prison fire
Bernard Bankukira
BBC Great Lakes
The fire is reported to have broke at around 04:00 local timeImage caption: The fire is reported to have broke at around 04:00 local time
Many prisoners are feared dead after a fire broke out in the main prison in Burundi’s capital, Gitega, on Tuesday.
Images shared online show bodies of people thought to be prisoners.
Authorities in Burundi haven’t yet released any details about the incident.
A journalist from a private media house located near the prison says firefighters entered the prison, but a big part of the facility had already been burnt.
“Many nurses from Gitega hospital were mobilised and we saw them entering the prison to help,” he told BBC Great Lakes.
A prisoner who survived the fire told the BBC that the fire broke at around 04:00 local time while many inmates were still asleep.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
In late August, an electric fault caused a fire in a section of the prison, but no casualties were recorded.
