BoG reduces policy rate to 13.5%
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana has reduced its lending rate by a 100 basis point from 14.5 percent to 13.5 percent. What this means is that individuals and businesses will be seeing a drop in the cost of borrowing. This is the first time the Prime rate has been lowered post-coivd-19. According to Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, their redecision was based on the global financing conditions which remain favorable in the first quarter of this year as well as on the domestic front, underlying inflation which subdued marginal signaling growth in the economy post-covid-19. Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addision announced this to journalists at the 100th MPC Meeting on Monday, 31 May 2021. Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Achimota sch vs Rastafarians judgment: Journalists thrown out of courtroom
Journalists have been denied access to the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court which is about to give judgment on the case filed by two Rastafarian students who were refused admission by Achimota Senior High School. Ahead of the judgment on Monday afternoon [31 May 2021], the clerk of the court instructed everyone to leave the courtroom including journalists. Only the parties to the case have been admitted to court. Asked why journalists were sacked, the clerk in her response said, “I have been given a specific instruction.” Tyrone Marhguy and Oheneba Kweku Nkrabea have sued Achimota school for denying them admission because of their dreadlocks. The applicants are asking the court to declare that the failure and or refusal of the school to admit or enroll them on the basis of their Rastafarian religious inclination, beliefs and culture characterised by keeping their dreadlocks is a violation of their fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution, particularly Articles 12(1); 23; 21(1)(b)(c); 26(1)); and 17(2) and (3). They want the court to direct Achimota school to admit them with their dreads. Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Real Madrid no longer had faith in me – Zidane
Zinedine Zidane says he resigned as Real Madrid manager because he felt the club “no longer had faith” in him. The Frenchman left the La Liga club for a second time in his coaching career on 27 May after they failed to win a trophy during the 2020-21 season. Zidane previously managed Real from 2016-2018 before returning 10 months later in March 2019. “I’m going, but I’m not jumping overboard, nor am I tired of coaching,” said the 48-year-old. In an open letter to fans, published by Spanish media outlet AS, he added: “I’m leaving because I feel the club no longer has the faith in me I need, nor the support to build something in the medium or long term. “I understand football and I know the demands of a club like Real Madrid. I know when you don’t win, you have to leave. “I’m a natural-born winner and I was here to win trophies, but even more important than this are the people, their feelings, life itself and I have the sensation these things have not been taken into account. “There has been a failure to understand that these things also keep the dynamics of a great club going. To some extent I have even been rebuked for it.” The former France playmaker, who played for Real from 2001 to 2006, won three consecutive Champions League titles and a La Liga title in his first period as manager. He secured a second La Liga title during his second spell in charge in 2019-20 and had a year remaining on his contract when he left. Zidane said his 20 years at the Bernabeu were “the most beautiful thing that’s happened” in his life and that he would “always be grateful” to Real president Florentino Perez. “I want there to be respect for what we have achieved together. I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president over the past few months to have been a little different to that of other coaches,” Zidane added. “I wasn’t asking for privileges, of course not, just a little more recollection. These days the life of a coach in the dugout at a big club is two seasons, little more. “For it to last longer the human relationships are essential, they are more important than money, more important than fame, more important than everything. They need to be nurtured.” BBC Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
NIA to continue operationalization of regional, district offices tomorrow
Effective 1st June 2021, the National Identification Authority (NIA) will begin the operationalization of 17 regional and 275 district offices across the country. This decentralisation initiative according to the NIA will increase access to the Ghana Card, other related registration activities and the NIA’s visibility throughout the nation. This is in line with NIA’s statutory mandate to register and issue National Identity cards (Ghana Cards) to all Ghanaians from age zero to infinity, as well as foreign nationals lawfully resident in Ghana. To ensure a smooth roll-out of the decentralization process, NIA in a statement noted that it will use the following plans: a. 1st – 6th June – Setting up, public sensitization and engagements with community leaders on the operation of the Regional and District offices; b. 7th June onwards – Issuance of Ghana Cards to Ghanaians who registered during the mass registration exercise but could not get their cards; c. 7th -18th June – Continuation of public education and sensitization across the Regions and Districts; d. 5th July onwards: i. Registering of Ghanaians aged 15 years and above for the Ghana Card; ii. Replacement of lost, stolen, and damaged Ghana Cards; and iii. Update of personal information of applicants in the National Identity Register (NIR). The NIA said it will announce in due course the timelines for the registration of Ghanaians under 15 years. The regional and district offices of the NIA will operate within the usual business hours from 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Green Ghana sounds Northern warning
Ghana’s tree cover is fast depleting – a direct result of the activities of illegal miners, loggers and charcoal burners who exploit our forests recklessly with no sanction by the law. Environmentalists have expressed alarm about the speed at which the Sahara Desert is approaching Ghana’s borders. But now the Northern Region has outdoored a local contribution towards an innovative Green Ghana campaign with a working visit to Tamale by the deputy chief executive officer of the Forestry Commission, Sulemana Nyadia Nelson. Damage from galamsey To counter the ravages of commercial business owners who use the nation’s forest resources without regard for the environmental impact, the government launched the Green Ghana Project in March this year. Working through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, government officials are planning a national programme of activities to mirror the International Day of Forests, which took place on 21 March. Under the Green Ghana Project, the government intends to plant five million trees on one day – 11 June. The project aims to encourage Ghanaians to plant more trees to repair the damage being done by rapid depletion of the country’s forest cover. On 11 June, with the support of the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ghanaians will plant five million trees to begin to counter the impact of lost forest cover. Recent reconnaissance by the Ghana Armed Forces for Operation Halt II, the new fight against illegal mining in the southern half of Ghana, has exposed the shocking extent of the damage that the practice familiarly known as “galamsey” has inflicted on forest areas of Ghana and the way it has polluted water bodies. Galamsey site Sulemana Nyadia Nelson told environmental campaigners in Tamale that he decided to visit the Northern Region to assess its preparedness towards the 11 June tree planting exercise. He explained that in Ghana, urbanisation has had a ruinous effect, placing undue pressure on the environment. Making poverty worse “The forestry sector is beset with challenges that we all never thought we’d have,” Nelson said. “We are experiencing illegal logging of very high proportions. We are also experiencing mining in forest reserves and the pollution of our water bodies. “All these are contributing to the reduction of the tree and vegetation cover. In the long run, it’s exacerbating poverty. “We are a population that depends heavily on natural resources. A lot of us here are farmers and the rest depend on the forest and its resources for their livelihood. People burn charcoal for their livelihood; people log for their livelihood. And all of these are dependent on our natural resources.” The Forestry Commission official emphasised that the environmental damage Ghana faces is a challenge that confronts all Ghanaians and knows no personal distinctions. Nyadia expressed anxiety about the rate at which the problem has grown with the increase in Ghana’s urban population. “Years back, the population wasn’t this [large],” he said. “Now Tamale is urbanising and the urban population is exerting immense pressure on these resources. “If we want to reverse the situation we need to begin to plant. So that as you take, for instance, one tree, you plant five . . . Otherwise, in the next 50 years, this will be a desert.” Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
MTN Ghana targets 25% localisation by year end
Telecoms giant, MTN Ghana says it plans to increase local ownership in the company to 25% by the close of this year. Currrently, the company has local participation of 16.9%. Selorm Adadevoh, chief executive officer of MTN Ghana, announced this at the virtual annual general meeting of the company on Tuesday (25 May). He said the MTN Group remained committed to its agreement with the government to increase other shareholdings in Scancom PLC to 25%, with a focus on local shareholding. Also, in line with the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 Mobile Money Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scancom PLC, is required to achieve 30% localisation of its shareholding as part of Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) license requirements. Adadevoh said the BoG had extended the deadline to meet the requirement, to 15 January 2022. Significant market power (SMP) On the issue of the significant market power (SMP) declaration, Adadevoh said a series of engagements with the regulator and other key stakeholders was ongoing to resolve the issue in an amicable manner. He said from October 2020, MTN Ghana implemented the National Communication Authority’s directive to apply a 30% asymmetrical interconnect rate reduction for two years. He said engagements and discussions with relevant stakeholders were ongoing after a brief suspension in the lead up to the national elections in December 2020. “We are optimistic that these discussions will result in a positive outcome for MTN Ghana and the long-term sustainability of Ghana telecommunications industry. “We remain grateful to the NCA, the Ministry of Communications and key stakeholders for their commitment to engage with the view to resolve the issues amicably,” he said. The business reported a profit after tax of GHC1.4 billion which represents a 38.4% increase year on year. Shareholders approved a final dividend of five pesewas per share, bringing the total dividend for the 2020 year to eight pesewas per share. This represents 70.5% of profit after tax and a 33.3% increase in dividend per share over 2019. GNA Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Breaking News: Sowore shot by a police officer in Abuja
Omoyele Sowore, convener of RevolutionNow Movement, has been rushed to hospital after been shot by a police officer. Sowore, who confirmed the incident on his Twitter page, said he was shot at the Unity Fountain in Abuja. DAILY POST gathered that the female police officer fired teargas cannister at Sowore on Monday. The political activist who had gathered with others at the Unity Fountain for a protest has been rushed to the hospital for medical treatment. Sowore wrote, “Just been shot by a police officer, ACP Atine at the Unity Fountain in Abuja. “#RevolutionNow Let the struggle continue even if they take my life! #BuhariMustGo” WATCH: @YeleSowore Rushed To Hospital After Being Targeted and Shot By @PoliceNG Officer, ACP Atine, During Protest At Unity Fountain in Abuja pic.twitter.com/YmEmyzCCXT — Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) May 31, 2021 They shot @YeleSowore at close range. We are currently at the hospital. pic.twitter.com/tfyArxRGKG — Comrade Deji Adeyanju (@adeyanjudeji) May 31, 2021 Buhari must go – Sowore reacts to assassination attempt on Ortom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
As far as we are concerned in Abia, there is nothing like IPOB–Okezie Ikpeazu
Okezie Ikpeazu the executive Governor of Abia State has said that as far as he is concerned, there nothing like IPOB. Even though the Governor admitted that there is injustice in Nigeria, he believes the issue of injustice must be addressed in Nigeria as some of the agitations are germane. Ikpeazu warned against the outbreak of another Civil War in the pursuit of the creation of Biafra. The Governor, during an interview on Channels Television on Sunday, warned that violence is not the way to achieve the creation of Biafra nation, insisting that there are better means of going about it. Ikpeazu, however, said that the issue of injustice must be addressed as some of the agitations were germane but waved aside the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, adding that he does not recognize the group. “I don’t believe in Biafra through the barrels of the gun because I saw a little bit of the Civil War and I don’t want that kind of thing and I don’t see the prospects of that venture and I don’t want anything that will be suicidal,” the Peoples Democratic Party’s governor said, adding, “As far as we are concerned in Abia, there is nothing like IPOB.” Ikpeazu did not, however, fail to admit that “it is difficult to proscribe an ideology.” “If Biafra is a metaphor for agitation against injustice in any way, then there is Biafra in the heart of every Nigerian. “Why are we not taking steps to build bridges? Rather we are emphasizing things that divide us – ethnicity, religion – all those things that divide us,” the governor said. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Free SHS is good but must be reviewed – Educationist
An Educationist, Mr Samuel Ziga has called for a review of the Free SHS policy saying the policy in its current state is not sustainable. According to Mr Ziga, parents who are in the position to pay fees must be allowed to pay to ease the burden on the government and also help the government undertake some infrastructural development in the various public schools. The free SHS policy implemented by the Akufo-Addo led administration in 2017 has been blighted by several challenges including lack of desks, reduced contact hours and poor infrastructure to accommodate all the beneficiary students. But President on Saturday said the introduction and implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy has ensured that hundreds of thousands of young Ghanaians who, previously, would have had their education truncated at the Junior High School level, now have the opportunity to further their education. “The policy has reversed decades of exclusion, which denied, on the average, one hundred thousand young men and women, annually, entry to senior high school education because of the poverty of their parents,” the President made this known on Saturday, 29th May 2021, when the University of Cape Coast conferred an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership degree on him, at a ceremony at the campus of the University. Speaking on the Morning Starr on Monday, Mr Ziga said there must be a holistic and participatory review of the free SHS policy to make it better and sustainable. “The Free SHS policy, I’ve always said anyone who says it’s not good doesn’t want anything good for the country. But every citizen in Ghana knows that it’s facing challenges…For teachers who are teaching in SHSs, materials should be ready for them. We should give them free will. “When people talk about review, people look at it from a political angle because someone said when he comes, he’ll review it. We can’t continue that way. For me, payment of fee is not a problem but because they said it’s free, that’s why the government can’t come out. I think those who can pay should be allowed to pay.” Starrfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Former Adviser to Goodluck Jonathan shot dead
A former political adviser to Nigerian ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak has reportedly been shot dead. Local media reports in Nigeria said he was shot dead in Owerri, Imo State. According to reports, the police in Imo State indicated that the former political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, was killed on Sunday morning, around 7:20 a.m., while he was on his way to Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, to catch a flight. The police are believed to have said Mr Gulak was inside a Toyota Camry car with two other people when the car was intercepted and attacked by bandits. Police spokesperson in the state, Bala Elkana, is said to have announced his death in a statement on Sunday. “Ahmed Gulak left his room at Protea Hotel without informing the Police nor sister agencies in view of the fragile security situation in the South East and Imo in particular,” excerpts of the statement published by Premium Times Nigeria read. “He left without any security escorts and while the cab driver took irregular route to the airport, six armed bandits who rode in a Toyota Sienna intercepted, identified and shot at Ahmed Gulak at around Umueze Obiangwu in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area close to the Airport,” according to the statement. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093