University of Aberdeen confers Doctor of Laws on President Mahama

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President John MahamaThe University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom will on Friday hold a special convocation to confer on President John Dramani Mahama an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) (Honoris Causa).
The convocation, which will take place at the University’s Kings College, will form part of the President’s working visit to Scotland. President Mahama who leaves Accra today, Wednesday, for Glasgow will meet with the First Minister of Scotland and visit the Scottish Parliament where he will observe First Minister’s Question Time and address a meeting of Parliamentarians. Accompanied by the First Lady, Lordina Dramani Mahama, Foreign Minister Hanna S. Tetteh (MP), Communications Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah and the Education Minister Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyeman, President Mahama will also meet leaders of Scotland’s political parties. President Mahama will be the second Ghanaian leader after President Jerry John Rawlings to visit Scotland. The visit provides an opportunity for the two countries to strengthen political and economic relations. As part of his schedules, President Mahama will meet with the Ghanaian community and address a Business Forum. With the Vice President on an official visit to India, the Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho will act as President, in accordance with Article 60 (11) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.   Source: tv3network.com | Ghana

Execute murderers – Rawlings demands

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Execute murderers – Rawlings demands
Flt Lt Jerry John RawlingsGhana’s former President, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, has called for the strict application of the capital punishment law to stem the spate of callous killings in the country.
He said Ghana should not be witnessing the spate of killings with impunity, when the constitution exacts the severest punishment possible. Flt Lt Rawlings invited Parliament to consider the need to amend the constitution so Regional Security Councils will have the power to approve the execution of convicts sentenced under capital punishment. President Rawlings, who made the call during a courtesy call by the family of Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu, deceased Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North on Wednesday, said: “Because we have refused to exact the ultimate punishment, the police will arrest, the courts will sentence but the situation [spate of murders] will continue to rise.” The former President said the killing and the impunity of it, unfortunately came as no surprise to him and alluded the increased spate of murders to the fact that perpetrators of politically related killings in the not too distant past got away with their crimes. “We cannot sit here in the security of our circumstances while others remain vulnerable. I feel very disappointed about this. It will continue if we do not put the fear of God into them. If America can have that power at the level of the State, why not us,” the former President questioned?” Earlier a leading member of the family, Opanin George Amoah, criticized the failure of the police to communicate adequately with the family on the status of their investigations and sought the former President’s support in calling for openness from the investigating authority. “We are a family in pain. What we expect is not what we have seen. As things stand now the police have gone mute. We are careful not to mix politics with a criminal case and have stopped short of making any statements, but justice delayed is justice denied. The police have a responsibility to let us know where the investigations are headed. This is a heinous crime and we demand justice from the authorities. “We are urging the authorities to speed up investigations into the matter. The axe of justice must fall. We need to know the truth. It will sooth us,” Opanin George Amoah stated. Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who was also in the meeting, said there are a lot of crimes of similar magnitude which have not been investigated to their logical conclusion. She called on the security agencies to boost security to the country at large as the wave of murders was frightening. “We need to investigate all the murders so they do not recur. Why are they happening? We need to feel that we are secure in our individual homes. The investigating authorities owe it to not only the family but also to Ghanaians to explain exactly what is happening,” Nana Konadu said. Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, NDC Parliamentary candidate for Klottey Korle and brother of the deceased, Frank Adu also took turns to speak. Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings said the news of J. B. Danquah-Adu’s death shook everyone. She said there should not be seen to be a delay in investigating the MP’s murder and similar unresolved ones. She said: “A crime of this nature must not be allowed to fade away. The truth must be uncovered to give closure not only for the family but also for the whole country.” Frank Adu said J.B’s death was a painful one not only for the family but also for whole communities. “We miss our departed JB dearly. He was like a pied piper catering for many of his constituents.” Adu expressed deep concern about the level of poverty and inequality in society and said it was important that government gave hope for the ordinary people. “If as a government we do not give hope, then these young boys and girls without hope, commit some of the crimes we see today. They are easily swayed, easily convinced just to feed themselves and like any other animal backed into a corner, will fight. We have to blame the governance that we have and the politics that we have. We have to deal with this social problem, social upheaval of inequality, etc. taking place,” Adu said. Source: Office of JJ Rawlings

Special import levy: Mahama was not properly briefed – exporters

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Special import levy: Mahama was not properly briefed – exporters
importersThe Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana is not happy with President Mahama and has been hard on him as it accuses him of misleading the public.  
According to the Association, claim by the president that it was consulted with regards to the extension of 2% special import levy to 2017 in his interview with TV3 on Monday was inaccurate. “The minister of trade was out of the country at the time, and if I remember the deputy minister of trade met with them and listened to them and gave them assurances that government will sit and look at the some of the issues they have raised,” the president told TV3. But Executive Secretary of the Association, Samson Asaki Awingobit in a statement challenged that claim. “The businesses community especially importers and exporters association in the country never and have never been consulted on the extension of 2% special import levy to 2017. We only heard on air from the Finance Minister,” he said. He also charged government to be a listening one, adding that the private sector cannot experience any meaningful growth in the current tax regime and businesses environment. “It is for government to stop been defensive and listen to businesses for the overall growth and development of Ghana,” he stated. Below is the PRESS statement the Association issued on Tuesday TO ALL THE MEDIA HOUSES 15TH MARCH,2016 My attention has been drawn to an interview that H.E. the President of the Republic of Ghana granted to TV3 yesterday 141 March, 2016 and among other things touch on issues related to the businesses environment. We hereby wish to raise our concerns pertaining to the president’s interview and seek to correct some inaccuracy that were put out by H.E. the President. While acknowledging that the president probably was not brief. We wish to state the “follow” 1. The businesses community especially importers and exporters association in the country never and have never been consulted on the extension of 2% special import levy to 2017. We only heard on air from the finance minister. 2. While acknowledging that 1% tax on the CCVR is not a new tax, we wish to state that we find this tax illegal and unacceptable because it came with the DIC’s and ought to have expired with the DIC’s contracts. We find it unacceptable to continue to pay this tax in the absence of the DIC’s. ‘ 3. The excise tax stamp is for both imported and locally manufacturer goods. 4. The excise tax stamp is a transactional cost of doing businesses and will only exhibit the already worse businesses environment in the country. Excise tax stamp has never solved any counterfeit problem in any country. We are aware how it has fail in other country including Kenya. 5. Ghana has also implemented 20% on bicycles importations. 6. We find it unacceptable in that in the midst of high interest rate, high inflation and instability of Ghana cedis and the comparative low minimum wage of the Ghanaian worker. The Ghanaian government still opted for higher tariffs band such as 35% for most consumable goods that the country have no capacity to produce, compare to Ivory Coast, Togo who took lower tariff band. 7. i.e. The CET rice import duty, for rice in Ivory Coast is 10% while is 20% in Ghana. Chicken is 20% while is 35% in Ghana, yet the minimum wage is higher than that of Ghana and the C.F.A has been stable over 10 years as compared to the cedi in Ghana. Also interest rate in Ivory Coast is about 8% compared to about 30% in Ghana. In conclusion, the position of the importers and exporters association is that, the cumulative tax on import, on most consumable goods for the ordinary Ghanaian is about 60% and the government must seek to reduce it so as to lessen the burden of the consumers. The private sector cannot experience any meaningful grown in the current tax regime and businesses environment. It is for government to stop been defensive and listen to businesses for the overall growth and development of Ghana. Executive secretary Samson Asaki Awingobit Source: Isaac Essel |tv3network.com | Ghana

Deeba to graduate as lawyer from ‘confined community’ in UK

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Deeba to graduate as lawyer from ‘confined community’ in UK
DeebaThe manager of Ghanaian hiplife musician Deeba Acheampong, Pastor Elvis, has disclosed that his artiste never defiled his 8-year-old daughter of his fiancée in the United Kingdom, but rather inserted ginger into her anus.  
Speaking on Onua 95.1 FM’s flagship program Anigye Mmre, Pastor Elvis revealed that when Deeba was sent to UK through the INTERPOL Ghana Office of Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), he was given a lawyer by the UK government to defend him in the trial. “It was during the trial that the lawyer of Deeba revealed to the court that, his client never defiled his 8-year-old step daughter but he inserted a ginger into her anus and it’s an African way of punishment,” Pastor Elvis lamented. “When Deeba and his fiancée decided to punish their 8-year daughter for misbehaving, the fiancée was trying to insert the ginger but she couldn’t so ‘Deeba’ took the ginger and inserted it into the girl’s anus,” Pastor Elvis told Christian Agyei Frimpong, the host. Pastor Elvis went on to say that the little girl went to school and informed her teacher that her father inserted his fingers into her anus and it led to the arrest of ‘Deeba’. When Christian Agyei asked Pastor Elvis if his artiste has been sentenced to prison custody, Pastor Elvis said: “The findings of the court revealed that Deeba was not with the intention of harming the little daughter, so Deeba was not sentenced to prison custody but he was taken to a confined community and not a prison. “He will be a free man from that confined environment by the end of this year, so his fans should expect him this year.” “Deeba has embarked on series of courses where he is now, the courses include Law [and] by 2018 he will graduate as a lawyer,” Pastor Elvis stated. The arrest of Deeba in Ghana came with a drama, with the involvement of ace investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Arabian friend, Sheikh Ibn Abu Talib. Deeba was invited to a five-star hotel in Accra under the pretext of attending a music audition for already established music stars willing to revive their ambitions. It was during this time when he was giving a free style of his famous Deeba track that the police men from INTERPOL section of the CID came in to arrest him. By Emmanuel Agyemang|Onua 95.1FM|tv3network.com|Ghana

Validation of teachers’ salaries extended to April 15; 60,000 to be affected

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Validation of teachers’ salaries extended to April 15; 60,000 to be affected
teachers The validation process being undertaken by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) in collaboration with the Audit Service, the Ministry of Finance and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department for workers within the Ghana Education Service is now expected to end on April 15, one month later than the originally scheduled date.
Teachers as well as education workers had been asked to submit particulars for validation by March 15 for the process, which will ensure that their salary arrears are paid. “The off-site team, working on the validation, has so far received application forms in excess of 60,000 and wishes to assure all the affected teachers and other workers within the Ghana Education Service that the forms are being worked on,” a statement jointly issued by the teacher unions on Tuesday, March 15 said. But applicants as well as district and regional directors of education have been given up to Friday, March 18 “to forward the rest of the data (if any) to Ghana Education Service headquarters for onward submission to the validation team for validation and subsequent payment”. Those whose forms were queried have also been asked to “urgently respond to the queries to enable the validating team validate their document(s) for prompt payment of the salary arrears”. Leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Ghana (CCT-G) have expressed optimism in the exercise. By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|tv3network.com|Ghana Twitter: @kwame_amoh

Presidency has now moved from the Johns to the Mahamas – PNC leader asserts

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Presidency has now moved from the Johns to the Mahamas – PNC leader asserts
Dr. Mahama on NewdayThe flagbearer of the Peoples’ National Convention is laying claim to the presidency in the forthcoming general elections merely because he is called Mahama.
The opposition leader’s conviction is rooted in what he believes is a change in the status quo, from the synthetic belief that the presidency is a preserve for the Johns. Giving a lighter side to a rather staid interview on TV3 New Day on Tuesday, Dr. Edward Mahama said the relay baton has now shifted from the hands of the Johns to the Mahamas. “Ghanaians gave it to Jerry John Rawlings, who gave it to John Kufuor, who gave it to John Mills who gave it to John Mahama,” he recorded the four presidents Ghana has produced since the country returned to constitutional rule from 1992 under the Fourth Republic. He now points out, “It is a relay. They have run the four races, now the Mahamas are going to start.” “So John Mahama will give to Edward Mahama; maybe you have to change your name to Mahama then you will become the next [president]” he told his host Martin Asiedu Dartey in a lively banter. He disclosed that the party is cooking up a new catchphrase to replace the a bit mundane “Two Sure; Two Direct” slogan of the PNC. Dr. Mahama also touched on the party’s merger with another Nkrumaist force – the Convention Peoples Party – which he said is still being considered by both sides. The merger has been lingering for years due to the parties’ inability to compromise on the name of the united party and the logo among others. “We have a great nation; PNC, Edward Mahama and the new force will make it greater,” he declared.   Source: Isaac Essel | tv3network.com | Ghana

Only 250 out of over 1000 children are in school in Accra Town

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Only 250 out of over 1000 children are in school in Accra Town
The Challenging Height ambassadors with some of the pupils of Accra Town DA PrimaryApproximately 75 percent of children in Accra Town, an island community close to Yeji in the Brong-Ahafo Region are not enrolled in school or getting proper education due the persistence of child labour.
Of the more than1,000 children of school going age in the island, only 250 of them are enrolled in school, Communications Manager of Challenging Heights, Ms Pomaa Arthur, has revealed. Children of school going age are often found engaging in fishing with their parents or guardians on the Lake Volta during school hours resulting in lateness or total absenteeism at the only educational centre in the community – Accra Town D/A Primary School. This came to light when Challenging Heights (CH); a Non-Governmental Organisation based in Winneba, visited the coastal community with members of its Ambassadors Programme. The visit was to expose the ambassadors to the humanitarian and philanthropic activities of the organisation. It also provided an opportunity for the Ambassadors to interact with the schoolchildren, teachers and residents of the community.

China to fund 700MW VRA coal plant

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CFThe China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund) is to provide about US$1.5billion long-term loan for the construction of two 350MW coal-fired plant to meet future power demand.
The coal power project to be undertaken by the Volta River Authority (VRA) and its Chinese partners, Shenzhen Energy Group Co. Ltd. of China (SEC), is to be sited at Aboano in the Ekumfi district of the Central Region. This represents the first phase of developing coal plants by the largest power producer, as it seeks to strengthen the country’s base load and forestall any future shortage of power when existing plants are due for mandatory maintenance. The plant is to be further expanded either by a 4×350MW (or 2×600MW) supercritical coal-fired generating units in the future as demand is expected to continue increasing. Current demand for the country currently stands at about 2,225MW and this is expected to hit 7,000MW by 2030. VRA and SEC, after a successful prefeasibility study and design of the plant, have since served scoping notice to allow individuals, groups and organisations with special interest, concerns and expert knowledge on the environmental impact to furnish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), VRA and SEC with it. The country was plunged into two years of erratic power supply brought on by poor water inflow into the Akosombo Lake for hydro -ower generation by the 1,020 MW-Akosombo Generating Station. This was compounded by the unavailability of gas from Nigeria via the West African Gas Pipeline and challenges with continuous availability of indigenous gas, which forced the hand of power distributors to ration power. Government working with power producers and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has since secured two emergency power barges to generate about 500MW of thermal power to remedy the power crisis that led to collapse of many businesses. The main challenge for power companies over the years has been their inability to cover their cost of operation — given the rather low tariffs and subsiding of power by successive governments. The subsidies were not paid to the power producers, leading to huge debts. Government this year imposed an Energy Sector Levy to generate enough revenue to pay off the legacy debts of power companies President John Dramani Mahama, in his State of the Nation address, apologised for any hardship that imposition of the Levy might have caused Ghanaians; but justified it as an imperative action needed to solve the energy sector challenges permanently. “I deeply regret any hardship the Energy Sector Levy may have caused; but if we are to fix our energy sector challenges permanently, then this decision was absolutely imperative. It was the only option available after all others had been evaluated,” he said. President Mahama said: “All these gains will be undermined if the issue of financial viability for our utility companies is not addressed. For nearly two decades now, our power sector companies have piled on debts that have severely impeded their ability to perform at the optimal level. It is a mark of their resilience and commitment to the national cause that they have survived till this day. Together, the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) owe a colossal amount of billions of cedis”. Source: B&FT | Ghana

Smarttys sues media houses over recent corruption allegations

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Smarttys sues media houses over recent corruption allegations
Selassie Ibrahim is the Chief Executive Officer of Smarttys Management and Productions LimitedSmarttys Management and Productions Limited has initiated legal action against media houses that alleged its involvement in the $92 million-rural electrification project executed by China Hunan Construction Engineering Group on behalf of the government of Ghana.
It has denied any involvement in the execution of the project, stressing that it only provided public relations services for the Chinese company. In a statement issued by lawyer Kissi Agyebeng on behalf of Smarttys on Tuesday, March 15, the production firm will not hesitate in suing “any person and media house that persists in the publication or republication of the clearly defamatory and damaging media report”. “Indeed, we are filing suit promptly against media houses that carried the unfortunate untruth masquerading as a verified story”. In Parliament on Monday, March 14, the Minority accused Smarttys of representing the Chinese firm in overpricing the rural electrification project in excess of $9 million. Source: tv3network.com|Ghana

Decentralization is not an option now – Director of Passports

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Decentralization is not an option now – Director of Passports
PassportDirector of Passports, Alexander Grant Ntrakwa believes decentralizing the issue of passport would be a big security risk.
There have been calls for the decentralization of passport acquisition in Ghana to ease the congestion and underhand dealings at Passport Application Centers (PACS). Acquisition of a passport has been time consuming and nightmarish; a situation where people sometimes spend days commuting to and from the Passport Office before being issued with a passport. Speaking on 3FM’s Sunrise, Mr. Ntrakwa noted that the decentralization process isn’t an option at the moment for security reason, which he said was not ready to deal with the implications. “I am talking about the best practice that all countries are exercising now and I don’t think even the U.S A. where we look at as the best democratic country even practices that”. Mr. Ntrakwa maintained, “I lived in the US for four years and I wasn’t aware of a situation where maybe New York State printed passports and Illinois has different place for printing passports. “Considering the security architecture globally I don’t subscribe to a situation where a country like Ghana will be printing passports in different locations within the country”. Source: Nana Afrane Asante | tv3network.com | Ghana
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