Live TV
29.2 C
Accra
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Radio
Live TV
Home Blog Page 1392

Oppong Nkrumah to NDC: Provide alternative than unnecessarily criticizing our good policies

Max TV
-
0

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister for Information and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase-Ayerebi constituency, has asked the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to provide alternative policies than to unnecessarily criticize the infrastructure policies of the NPP government.

According to Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, the NDC is looking at the government’s infrastructure with myopic eyes.

“The NDC I believe has decided to myopically look at our infrastructure and development agenda and deceive Ghanaians with their usual lies and propaganda because they don’t have any alternative policies for Ghanaians though they are seeking another term.”

“It will serve much purpose than to criticize unjustifiably,” Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said.

26 projects captured on the government’s delivery tracker website has been described by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) as nonexistent.

During a press briefing on Monday, the Party’s National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi said that the achievements presented by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Tuesday, August 18, was “a cocktail of blatant falsehoods, ghost projects, and stolen projects”.

This, he said was a deliberate attempt by Dr. Bawumia together with President Nana Akufo-Addo, to distort the facts.

Speaking on an Accra-based FM station, he explained that as a responsible government, they have so far within their less than 4 years in office provided the infrastructure that will improve the living conditions of Ghanaians.

“Nonetheless, we have also put in place effective policies that will transform the country into our next government,” he added.

” . . it will even interest you to note that Ghanaians are even challenging the 26 ghost projects the NDC is talking about because they are not providing the true picture of what is provided by the tracker . . . ” he said.

Kofi Boakye: Police will handle infractions swiftly during Election 2020

Max TV
-
0

COP Nathan Kofi Boakye, the Director-General for Legal and Prosecutions at the Ghana Police Service, has said the Police will swiftly deal with all infractions before, during and after the December 7 Presidential and Parliamentary election.

COP Kofi Boakye reiterated the commitment of the Police to swiftly investigate, arrest and deal with electoral offenders in accordance with the laws of Ghana.

Speaking to the media in Koforidua at the sidelines of a capacity building on electoral laws for 120 Police officers made up of investigators, District and Unit commanders, as well as and Divisional commanders in the Eastern region, COP Kofi Boakye said the Police Administration “is preparing feverishly in terms of training our personnel in all aspects.”

“We are training the patrolmen in Huhunya, we are training those who are to give protection to vital installations and we have realized that it is also important to train the policemen to be abreast with the laws relating to the conduct of elections, how they can effectively gather evidence to prosecute electoral offences”.

COP Kofi Boakye added the training is being carried out nationwide.

“This is not only in Koforidua we have done that in Accra region, we have done that of Police Headquarters for the police management team including the Inspector General of Police. We have done Tamale, we have done Damango, we have done Western North, and We have done Ahafo so it is the turn of Koforidua trying to build the capacity to prosecute Electoral offences”

COP Kofi Boakye stated that the Police Administration is cognizant of the crucial nature of this year’s election, therefore, leaving no stone unturned in its quest to protect the peace and stability of the country.

He, therefore, advised Police personnel to be neutral and discharge their duties in firmness without fear or favour to help build public confidence to enhance corporation.

 

GII to Amidu: Update Ghanaians on status of prosecutions

Max TV
-
0

Special Prosecutor (SP) Martin Amidu, has been called upon by Civil Society Organisation, Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), to regularly give Ghanaians an account of the cases that his office is dealing with.

This, according to the GII, will help the citizenry gain a better understanding of the operations of the office of the SP and boost confidence in the office.

A number of critics have said Mr Amidu’s office has not achieved anything in terms of the fight against corruption since his appointment by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo three years ago.

This is because as Special Prosecutor, he is yet to successfully prosecute any of those under investigation by his office.

The Programme Officer of the GII, Mr Jacob Tetteh Awunu, speaking on the State of Affairs programme on AN Accra-based FM on Wednesday, 26 August 2020, called for regular updates from the OSP, which he said will enable citizens decipher for themselves if the SP’s office is, indeed, functional.

Mr Awunu said that: “If the office can come out regularly to update us per the law and say that: ‘This and this are the cases I’m handling’, ‘this and this are the levels of the case I’m handling; one is in court, two is here, this has been quashed or that’, that will give the citizens some feeling of [satisfaction].

“We, as a civil society, are saying when the law takes it course, and it comes to a conclusion, then we have some level of hope that indeed the processes are working, but when we are not in the known, when citizens are in the dark when it comes to such issues, that is when speculations of non-performance will come up.”

The GII Programme Officer further stated that: “The tag on the office of the Special Prosecutor that it is not working, it is basically because information flow is not coming. And when it comes, then we can now say this has delayed too much. It shows that you are not effectively working, or at least, we’re now aware that you are doing something and that is what we need.”

The flagbearer of the All People’s Congress (APC), Mr Hassan Ayariga, meanwhile, has said the office of the Special Prosecutor can only function properly if it is independent from the office of the Attorney General (AG).

Mr Ayariga said: “The President’s Special Prosecutor is under the office of the Attorney General and he gets his cases, all the cases and all his assignments come from the office of the Attorney General. If you have a Special Prosecutor who works under the office of the Attorney General, what do you think he is going to do. He still has to go through Attorney General’s office before he prosecutes. If you know he has to go through the Office of the Attorney General before he prosecutes, why then did you bring that office. Allow the Attorney General’s Office to do those prosecutions.”

He has, therefore, promised that his party will ensure that the AG’s office is delinked from that of the Special Prosecutor.

“The APC manifesto and Hassan Ayariga’s manifesto is that we believe in an Independent Special Prosecutor. The Independent Special Prosecutor is autonomous, he has so much power, he does not work under anybody’s office, he’s on his own. So even you as President, when you misbehave, you’ll be called to check on. So that is why we have a Special Prosecutor who is very intelligent but has no work to do, because his boss will not give him the work to do.”

NUGS : Giving students loan without a guarantor step in right direction

Max TV
-
0

Isaac Jay Hyde, President of the National Union of Ghanaian Students (NUGS), has said that government’s initiative on the guarantor system for student’s loan is a step in the right direction.

The President of NUGS recounted the stress students go through to get loans, saying that scrapping the guarantor system will go a long way to help students who have to go through a lot of stress to get guarantors.

Speaking on an Accra-based FM station, he said, “It is true students go through a lot of stress to get guarantors. We have about 31,000 students who depend on loans because they are either poor or persons who cannot raise their personal funds to pay fees and therefore fall on the student loan.”

Isaac Jay Hyde explained further that, “Before acquiring a loan, a student needs two guarantors who are workers who have SSNIT contributions and in future if the student is unable to pay, it will be deducted from their pension allowance.”

He added that,” If you have to look for someone outside, it becomes difficult, and so if government says he will scrap the guarantor system it will help the students a lot.”

However, he said NUGS is also waiting for other political parties to bring their manifesto out for students to know and assess if they also have something better for students with regards to loans.

“We support government on that particular position. We will be happy if other political parties also bring out their manifesto for us to see what plans they have for students in that regard,” he said.

He noted that over the years, one of the challenges confronting students was the delay of loans, adding that students receive it and do not pay.

“We believe that if the NIA card is used, it will help track down every beneficiary,” he said.

He complained of the delay in payments of students loan, calling on authorities to ensure that student’s loans are paid in time.

To students who are owing, he urged them to also pay in time so that others can also benefit.

 

Franklin Cudjoe: Okada touches a lot of lives, legalize it

Max TV
-
0

Franklin Cudjoe, the President for policy Think Tank IMANI Africa, has also waded in on the raging debate on the legalization of OKADA business as was promised by former President John Dramani Mahama.

Franklin Cudjoe’s comment comes after the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said in his interaction with the people of Kpando that he will legalize the OKADA business if given power on December 7.

“I’ve been seeing young people who have finished school and they can’t find a job and, so, they are looking for something they can do and many of our young people are riding motorcycles and transporting people from place to place, and we call them Okada.”

“But in our law, it says Okada is illegal but Okada is a reality, it has come to stay, you can’t stop it, and, so, I’ve suggested and I say when we come into office, we will legalise Okada but we will regulate it,” Franklin Cudjoe added.

The former President while defending his stance said that “This is a service that has come to stay. Whether you legalize it or not you cannot stop it and so why behave like the ostrich and bury your head in the sand. These okadas have created more jobs in this economy than any government job-related policy. It has created more jobs than NABCo, it has created more jobs than YEA and all those artificial job creation programs”.

However, advocates of the governing New Patriotic Party has argued that OKADA business is not sustainable and safe, hence only lazy thinkers will think of using it as a means to fight the unemployment menace in the country.

But, Franklin Cudjoe, reacting to the raging debate, indicated that “Okada must be legalised to make it safe. This touches a lot of lives”.

Kofi Bentil, who is one of the Vice Presidents of the policy think tank, also expressed similar position and has said that any government that is not ready to regulate the activities of OKADA operators is not ready to govern because OKADA business provides honest employment.

COPEC: Tema Oil Refinery needs capital injection to avoid collapse

Max TV
-
0

The Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, has said Government needs to raise capital to support the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), which is in dire straits, otherwise it will bite the dust.

Ghana’s only refinery has for long been loss-making and riddled with debt, with energy experts calling for equity injection or privatisation to make it efficient and profitable.

For years the refinery has not published any financial statements. However, according to its 2019 variance report, TOR made a net loss of GH¢186.4m in the first four months of 2019. This was against a budgeted loss of GH¢71.7m.

The report said “TOR’s revenue targets are not being achieved due to lack of working capital to procure crude oil for processing on a continuous basis. However, fixed costs continue to be incurred.”

Duncan Amoah said government should step in with investment to make the company financially viable and able to clear its debt backlog and purchase crude oil supplies.

In an interview, he said “Our checks indicate that the plant itself had to be shut down. We are pleading with authorities that the right investments are made, because till date it remains the only refinery Ghana has. One would have expected that after becoming an oil producing country our refinery would have been of importance to us. Sadly, the fortunes of TOR keep dwindling.”

According to him, the company even struggles to pay salaries, and he urged government to within the short term commit investments to improve its fortunes.

Some of the causes of the woes of TOR, Mr. Amoah explained, are poor management practices in the past, lack of right investment and retooling, such that equipment which were fixed in the 1970s are still in use today.

Once TOR is up and working, it will ensure fuel security, he added.

He also opposed the idea that TOR should be used as a tank farm, insisting that “we do not think it will make any economic sense to turn a US$1bn facility into a tank hub. We can use the tanks and still let the refinery work so as to contribute to Ghana’s GDP.”

In 2012, TOR secured some US$900m in financing from BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered to help it clear its debt backlog and purchase crude oil supplies.

It was the second multi-million-dollar bailout since 2010 for the 45,000 barrel-per-day plant, which has run only intermittently for years due to trouble securing credit to line up a steady supply of crude shipments.

In spite of the government injecting an additional GH¢3.49bn and shareholders’ funds amounting to GH¢678.9m as at the end of the first four months of 2019, the refinery’s liquidity position has not been good.

TOR’s total debt, as at April 30, 2019, was GH¢1.5bn, after the government-backed ESLA Plc had paid a total amount of GH¢1.14bn in legacy debts.

BoG Governor: 95%-plus S&L, MFI customers paid

Max TV
-
0

Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, has stated that all customers of the nine (9) failed banks, and over ninety-five percent (95%) of customers of Specialised Deposit-taking Institutions (SDIs), which were affected by the banking sector clean-up, have received their deposits.

The first phase of the banking sector clean-up, according to Dr Addison, involved the revocation of licenses of nine (9) banks, for which all depositors were paid in full.

“The second phase has to do with the SDIs – these are the savings and loans, microfinance institutions and finance houses. In their case, for individual depositors who have been fully paid, the data that we have suggests that more than 95% of depositors have been fully paid,” Dr Addison said.

The Governor continued, “So, there are just about 5% depositors who have large amounts, these are the high net worth individuals that were settled with loans which were to be retired over 5 years. So, we think that most of it has been done.”

Dr Ernest Addison made this known on Tuesday, 25 August 2020, when the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, visited the Bank of Ghana to familiarize himself with the operations of the Bank.

The Bank of Ghana Governor, touching on deposits of customers of GN Savings and Loans and First Allied Savings and Loans, noted that over the last three (3) weeks, all customers have been paid.

“The Government has provided a bond worth GH¢1.7 billion, for which we have monetised GH¢700 million. So, the receiver is also working at clearing the last few customers that are left in that segment. So, I think that we have made a lot of progress, Mr President, with this depositor issue,” he added.

On helping to ensure the maintenance of a strong banking sector in the country, and to prevent the recurrence of a banking crisis, Governor Addison told President Akufo-Addo that the first step taken has been to pass the new corporate governance directive.

This, the Bank of Ghana Governor said, had become necessary because, at the heart of the financial sector crisis, was a breakdown in corporate governance in the various banks whose licenses were revoked.

“The second one has to do with misreporting of data, because of a lot of falsification of data by the financial institutions to the Central Bank. So we have brought in a new technology which will allow us to get the data directly from sources, so that no human interventions will be in there to distort the data that they send,” the Governor indicated.

The third step, he added, “has to do with the capital verification process, because a lot of the banks reported that they had capital when, in fact, they didn’t have any capital at all.”

Dr Ernest Addison continued, “So we have reviewed the entire capital verification process of the bank, and it’s almost impossible now for us to have a bank that doesn’t have any capital, and yet it’s allowed to operate, and, of course, in addition to that, for all the staff of the banking solution department we have had a lot of training programmes with the IMF and other technical assistance have been provided.”

To President Akufo-Addo, Dr Ernest Addison expressed the appreciation of the country’s banking sector for the role played in sanitiSing the space, which has brought in its wake more confidence in its wake.

“Your clear leadership and understanding of the role of the financial sector in the government’s transformation agenda, gave the leadership of the Bank the confidence and courage to embark on the comprehensive banking sector reforms over the last three years, which saw an increase in the minimum capital requirements, clean-up of the financial sector by the revocation of licenses of weak and insolvent institutions, and a revamp of the regulatory framework to stabilise and strengthen the sector,” he added.

The clean-up of sector, he stressed, has resulted in a stable financial sector with fewer banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) that are well capitalised, liquid, and solvent, and better able to support our nation’s economic growth agenda.

“These efforts helped to earn the Bank international acclaim as the Central Bank of the Year in 2019. By the end of 2019, all the financial sector soundness indicators showed strong improvements as capital adequacy ratio, profitability, and liquidity levels increased significantly while non-performing loans declined,” he added.

Dr. Bawumia: It didn’t make sense to continue supporting the collapsed banks

Max TV
-
0

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said that government had no option than to shut down some banks and financial institutions in the country.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia said even though the situation is sad it didn’t make sense to continue supporting these banks that are suffering.

“It was bad . . . when I saw the numbers at the time it was quite frightening,” Dr Bawumia said.

He said the banks were using the Central Bank’s liquidity support for other purposes.

This follows claims that government could have used other means to save the banks and prevent the loss of jobs.

The Vice President, who was speaking in a one-on-one interview on an Accra-based FM station, said the then NDC administration was aware of the situation but did nothing about it and rather kept offering liquidity support.

“The NDC was aware there was a problem . . . these were bad practices of government but we had to step in,” he stated.

“By the time we got into office things were unraveling; we were on the brink of the collapse of the system so the BoG had to rescue the situation. This is one of the most important acts that have been done to save the economy.”

Lionel Messi hands in Barcelona transfer request

Max TV
-
0

Legendary Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has asked to leave this summer.

The Argentina international, 33, sent a fax to the club on Tuesday saying he wishes to exercise a clause in his contract, allowing him to leave for free with immediate effect.

Barca were beaten 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on 16 August.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner made his debut for Barca in 2004 and has won the Champions League four times.

Barcelona, though, believe the clause has now expired and Messi is contracted to the club until 2021 with a 700m euro buy-out clause.

The board will meet soon and some consider the only thing that could placate Messi is the resignation of the president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and early elections. But Messi seems determined to leave the club no matter what.

After the news broke, Barca fans gathered outside the Nou Camp to protest against the board and in support of the club’s record goalscorer.

A legal battle is now set to follow between the club and the player. Messi had a clause in his contract which allowed him to leave for free, if he informed the club of his desire before 10 June.

That date has now passed so Barca believe the clause has expired, but Messi and his team feel it should be extended to cover the prolonged season – which ran until August due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Respect and admiration, Leo. All my support, friend,” Messi’s former team-mate Carles Puyol tweeted, to which current team-mate Luis Suarez replied with two clapping emojis.

 

Usain Bolt: Jamaican sprinter tests positive for coronavirus

Max TV
-
0

Sprinting legend Usain Bolt has tested positive for coronavirus.

Bolt celebrated his 34th birthday with a party in his native Jamaica last week and quarantined himself as a precaution after taking a test on Saturday.

“The Covid test was positive, but Usain is not showing any symptoms,” Bolt’s agent Ricky Simms said in an email.

Bolt, who retired in 2017, won eight Olympic and 11 world titles in a glittering career which also saw him set the 100m and 200m world records.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said on Monday that police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Bolt’s birthday party.

He told a virtual news conference: “These matters are all being thoroughly investigated and the police will give a report on these matters in near future.”

Bolt retired from athletics following the 2017 World Championships in London.

He began training with Australian club Central Coast Mariners in 2018 but did not pursue a career in football.

Bolt follows several high-profile sports stars in having tested positive for coronavirus this year, including tennis world number one Novak Djokovic in June and Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic on Sunday.

1...1,3911,3921,393...1,440Page 1,392 of 1,440

Radio

TV

Social

Sitemap

© 2026 IMax Media. All Rights Reserved.