Dr.Mahamudu Bawumia must be elected president for a solid future of Ghanaians–Prof Mike Oquaye
Rev. Prof. Mike Aaron Oquaye, the former Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament has said for a solid future to be ensured for the good people of Ghana, Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia must be elected president. He touted the life-changing policy initiatives of Dr Bawumia as the engines that will see to the continuous growth and development of the economy. When asked how he sees the future of Ghana under Dr Bawumia, the former Speaker said: “It would be fantastic if we are able to continue with this digitilisation and automation, including ICT” drive of Dr Bawumia. Professor Oquaye enumerated a number of innovative ideas which have helped to plug revenue leakages at the country’s entry points. The GPS Address System, Mobile Money Interoperability, digitalisation in renewing National Health Insurance subscription, among others, are some of the many technological advancements Dr Bawumia has brought into the system. In an interview with Raymond Kumah’s Okyeman Television at his residence, Professor Oquaye observed that the country cannot continue to implement the same policies and ideas that have not yielded much results. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
MTN Group’s President Ralph Mupita pays courtesy visit to the GSE
The Group President and CEO of MTN, Ralph Mupita has saluted the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) for its role in the ‘Ghana Cares’ national socio-economic priorities that is going to be critical for Ghana’s development going forward. “We are encouraged by the progress we have seen in the development and deepening of the capital markets in Ghana”, Mr Mupita said. He noted that “capital formation and capital markets are critical in economic development of countries. We salute the ‘Ghana Cares’ national socio-economic priorities that is going to be critical to Ghana’s development going forward”. He made the remarks on Tuesday 18 May 2021 when he visited the GSE to pay a courtesy call on the Managing Director, Mr. Ekow Afedzi, as part of a three-day working visit to one of MTN Group’s key markets. He also used the opportunity to get a first-hand account of the performance of Scancom Plc (MTN Ghana) shares since the Initial Public Offer (IPO) in 2018. Mr. Mupita was grateful for the support MTN Ghana had received since its listing on the bourse. “On behalf of the MTN Group we would like to thank the GSE for the support we have received since listing in September 2018”, he said. MTN Ghana’s performance on the Ghana Stock Exchange in 2021 has been nothing short of excellence, accounting for 86% and 77% of total volume and value traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange as at 18 May 2021. The company’s share price has gained 49 pesewas this year representing a year to date return of 76.6%. The MD of the GSE, Mr. Ekow Afedzi applauded MTN Ghana’s stellar performance. He commended the company for being the most liquid and driver of liquidity on the market. MTN Ghana listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange in 2018 and is the third largest company by market capitalization. This represents about 23% of the total market capitalization of the listings on the Ghana Stock Exchange. The MTN Group CEO was accompanied on his visit to the GSE by the VP for MTN WECA Region, Mr Ebenezer Asante, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Mr Sam Addo representing Selorm Adadevoh Chief Executive Officer, and the Chief Corporate Services Officer, Mr Samuel Koranteng. About MTN Ghana MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay as You Go Services and Mobile Financial Services. The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghana’s telecommunications market. Since its entry into Ghana in 2006, MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network in order to offer superior services to a broad expanse of the nation. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
SIM re-registration: ‘Ill-informed Bawumia’ using wrong approach to tackle e-money fraud — Haruna Iddrisu
Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, has lashed out at the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia over his recent comments about SIM card re-registration in Ghana. Dr. Bawumia, while speaking at the 5th Ghana CEO Summit in Accra, said in June 2021, all mobile phone users in the country would be expected to re-register their SIM cards or risk having their phone numbers deactivated. According to Haruna Iddrisu, undertaking a SIM re-registration exercise will not solve the issue of Mobile Money fraud as expected by Dr. Bawumia. He said the Vice President is “ill-informed, inept and highly naive,” with that assumption. “The solution to the challenges of fraud within the electronic money ecosystem goes beyond SIM registration,” he said. “We hold the view that the mandatory re-registration of SIMS provides no substantial benefit in the fight against electronic money fraud, and will face practical challenges such as inbound travellers who require a SIM card without a national ID,” he added. Haruna Iddrisu, in explaining why he believes the plan as announced by Dr. Bawumia is impracticable, said the suggestion that only the Ghana card would be accepted as an identification document for the exercise will mean that many Ghanaians will be left out since they do not have the card, while others who registered for the card are yet to receive them. “The number of issued cards is only a pale shadow of the eligible population. The reality is that there have been only 17 million registrations done of the Ghana Card. This represents 55% of our population. An even smaller proportion of the population has actually received their cards. It needs no saying therefore, that there are practical difficulties associated with the card as it is facing systemic and operational difficulties in its rollout,” Haruna Iddrisu said. Again, he argued that attacks on mobile money vendors are more of a bigger challenge that needs to be addressed and that cannot be tackled by re-registration of SIM. He also made a case about the poor timing of the exercise especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the government needs to be transparent and ensure full disclosure if the exercise is expected to be undertaken. “If the Vice President really desires simple solutions, he should consider instructing the BoG and the NCA to set key performance indicators for the mobile network operators (MNPs) about electronic money fraud and with consequences for breaches.” “The Vice President should urge subtly or overtly the MNOs to invest – proportionate to market share in advanced cybersecurity systems including additional personnel. These have been known to achieve monumental success stories in other jurisdictions with similar ecosystems.” Haruna Iddrisu expressed his conviction that a re-registration exercise will achieve very little and impose unnecessary burden on the citizenry. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093