Mr. President looks out for quality and merit, it doesn’t matter where you come from– Kpemka
Joseph Dindiok Kpemka the former Ghana Deputy Attorney General said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo looks out for quality and merit when making an appointment. The former Deputy Attorney spoke in an interview on Citi TV monitored by Apexnewsgh.com. According to the former Member of Parliament for Tempane constituency, President Nana Addo looks out for quality and merit in appointing persons to occupy positions, adding that, it does not matter where you come from, he will give it to you. Meanwhile citing himself as an example, he pointed that his appointment as the Deputy Attorney General was disputed by some personalities because he wasn’t that popular. However, he said upon all those reports against him to the President, the President did not give attention to such protest and later picked him for the Deputy Attorney position. “There is something I see in His Excellency the President. He looks out for quality and merit and if you do deserve it, it does not matter where you come from, he will give it to you. I can tell you that there were others who were not in support of my appointment to that particular position; that’s a fact but he (President) stood his grounds and said I want him to go with Dame to assist Hon. Gloria Akuffo and I were nominated,” he said. He expressed satisfaction with the role he played when given the opportunity to serve by the President, especially with the lead role he played in bringing to life the Office of the Special Prosecutor which he described as a privilege. Mr. Kpemka also was appointed the Vice Chairman of the Parliament’s Legal and Constitutional Committee. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
US supports women’s economic empowerment in Ghana & W/A
On Tuesday, the United States government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Shea Alliance (GSA), launched the first-ever virtual Global Shea Alliance International Shea Conference. Spearheaded by GSA, the three-day conference, themed ‘Building the Industry of the Next Decade’, celebrated GSA’s 10th anniversary and highlighted the importance of international partnerships toward achieving a more sustainable shea industry. US Ambassador to Ghana Stephanie S. Sullivan addressed hundreds of shea industry stakeholders and announced additional funding support to GSA’s Sustainable Shea Initiative (SSI) project across West Africa. “I’m happy to announce that USAID has just approved an extension to the GSA Sustainable Shea Initiative project. This extension was based on increased private sector interest in the program and USAID’s strategic objective to support private investment, build capacity of shea producers, and promote increased regional and global trade. We are thrilled to provide additional funding to match private funding to support the shea industry’s continued development for the next three years,” Ambassador Sullivan said. She also reaffirmed the U.S. government’s commitment to addressing climate change, and the need to preserve the shea ecosystem. “Indeed, President Biden announced on his first day in office that the United States would rejoin the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We have done so and have increased our climate ambitions in the runup to COP 26 in Glasgow in November,” Ambassador Sullivan noted. She commended the industry’s leading role in stopping shea parkland destruction through the Action for Shea Parklands – GSA’s initiative aimed at growing 10 million trees and preserving four million hectares of shea parklands throughout West Africa. Over the past decade, GSA has helped increase the demand for shea in food and cosmetics. GSA’s successful milestones include improved livelihoods of more than 400,000 West African women and their communities, and the construction of over 300 warehouses, that are now in the hands of women’s cooperatives throughout West Africa. The conference also addressed doing business in the COVID-19 era as well as new shea industry regulations. In a public-private partnership involving USAID, GSA, and the private sector, the Sustainable Shea Initiative has raised 100,000 shea tree seedlings and planted 8,000 shea trees in the region. Since 2011, SSI, a USAID-funded activity, has mobilized stakeholders globally to take action on pressing issues regarding shea sustainability, quality practices, and market expansion. The SSI is an $18 million, five-year program that promotes the sustainable expansion of the shea industry in Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria, and Togo, as well as increases the incomes of hundreds of thousands of rural women. In Ghana, 20,000 trees will be planted across five northern regions this year alone. 3news Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Withdraw ‘insensitive’ increased levies on margins of petroleum products – IES to gov’t
The Institute for Energy Security (IES) has asked government and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to immediately withdraw the increased levies on in some margins in the Price Build-Up (PUB) of petroleum products. The amended margins include the BOST Margin, the Primary Distribution Margin (PDM), Fuel Marking Margin (FMM) and the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) Margin. A statement issued by IES and signed by Research Analyst, Fritz Moses on 30 April 2021 indicated that the new increases are expected to take effect from today, 1 May 2021. “The amended margins were made available to the various Petroleum Service Providers (PSPs) on the 29th of April 2021, at the end of the April Second Pricing Window,” the statement further noted. The IES explained that “for the UPPF Margin, an addition of GHp30.00 per litre has been added on all products except for the Premix Fuel including an addition of GHp30.00 per kilograms on LPG. The PDM also saw an addition of GHp30.00 per litre of Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene. For the MM, a new addition of GHp50.00 was added on all their products. The BOST Margin, was increased by 100% from GHp6.00 to GHp12.00. This comes on the back of the introduction of the Sanitation and Pollution Levy (SPL) of 20 pesewas per litre of product and the addition of 10 pesewas on the Energy Sector Recovery Levy (ESRL)”. According to the statement, “the IES finds these new amendments in the various Margins as nuisance and insensitive to the Ghanaian consumer’s needs especially as the impact of the pandemic is still with majority of citizens. Already, the consumer is burdened with several taxes which, loss of employment and a reduction in salaries, all as a result of the pandemic. It will not be appropriate for government to burden Ghanaians the more with these new margins”. The statement continued: “IES finds no justification for the increases in these Margins. The BOST Margin and the PDM goes to BOST yet, BOST has not been able to even properly justify the GHp3.00 per litre increase given it last year. The company is still the same as it was the year before and nothing has changed. “This action by government, through the National Petroleum Authority can only be insensitive and inconsiderate looking at the times we are in”. “Increases in levies, taxes and margins is one of the key reasons why Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) decide to evade them the more and rather smuggle their products just to maximize their market share. This eventually leaves the very few tax compliant OMCs to suffer,” the statement further added. Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093