Nnamdi Kanu’s trial grounds commercial activities in Onitsha, Nnewi, environs
The resumed trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi, Monday, grounded commercial activities in Onitsha, Nbeu and their environs like Ogidi, Nkpor, Nsugbe, Nkwelke, Ezunaka, Obosi and Oba, Ozubulu, Oraifeite, Nnobi, and Akwaukwu, as all the markets in the area closed down, while banks and Federal Government agencies equally shut for business. Some of the markets in Onitsha, such as Onitsha Main Market, Ochanja Central Market, Oseokwodu Markets, over 27 markets under Bridge Head Markets, Onitsha Medicine Market, popularly known as Ogbo Ogwu Market, Biafra Market Onitsha, New Spare Parts Nkpor, Old Motor Parts Nkpor, Old Motor Spare Parts Obosi, New Tyre Market Nkpor all in Onitsha and its environs, and Nkwo Nnewi Market, Obi Nsoedo Market, Motor Spare Parts Nnewi, Motorcycle Spare Part Nnewi, and Timber Market also in Nnewi were all shut down as the roads in the industrial city was also deserted. All the major roads in Onitsha including the Onitsha-Enugu expressway, Onitsha-Owerri expressway, Oba-Nnewi-Okigwe expressway, Old and New Market roads Onitsha, Awka and Oguta road, and many others were a ghost of themselves as street markets on the roads were under lock and key. There was, however, no formal directive by the leadership of IPOB, for markets and business activities not to open, but Vanguard gathered that the markets in the state shut in solidarity for the IPOB and its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, over his alleged abduction, extradition and resumed trial in Federal High Court Abuja. There was no protest, street, or road processions, but bonfires were sighted in some strategic areas like Awada Obosi, Upper Iweka Onitsha, Oba new and Old road, Old road Nkpor, Obosi, and Ogidi roads. However, some Federal Government agencies like Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS, National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, were under lock and key, while all the commercial banks in the city shut their premises for business when Vanguard moved around Onitsha, Nnewi, and their environs. However, the Police, Army, and Naval officials were sighted moving around Onitsha, to ensure there is no breakdown of law and order, however, some newspaper dispatch officials going to Awka, Nnewi, and Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government Area, were turned back by the Police and soldiers for their safety. Entry from Asaba, Awka, and Owerri was made difficult by both Army and Police roadblocks and bonfires made by youths suspected to be members of IPOB, at Nkpor junction, Onitsha Owerri road, and Niger Bridge Head Onitsha. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Out There Media and MTN Ghana launch telco-driven mobile advertising with leading agencies and brands
Out There Media (OTM), a global leader in mobile advertising, today announced its partnership with MTN Ghana to provide digital advertising services for its customers. MTN Ghana will adopt OTM’s award-winning mobile engagement technology platform, Mobucks™, and leverage its network of brands and brand agencies, driving advertiser interaction and engagement with its 25 million subscribers in Ghana, three times the reach of Facebook in Ghana. OTM’s proprietary mobile technology Mobucks will enable MTN Ghana to bring its customers targeted and interactive messaging campaigns from their chosen brands and agency partners. MTN’s telco insights and wide reach combined with Mobucks’s precise targeting and personalization capabilities will enable “micro-targeting at scale” for its future brand clients. This will yield outstanding results, including 70x better performance in terms of engagement, response, conversion and ROI compared with industry benchmarks. Several brand partners have signed up to be among the launch partners and innovation leaders on the Mobucks platform including Cadbury Richoco, Glitz Natural Care, Mandela Mile, Marie Stopes, Mycare Mobile, Odibets and PharmaAccess. One project came from Cadbury Richoco which ran a mobile messaging campaign to raise awareness for its national educational support program “My Ghana, My Pride”, by inviting school children to enter an essay competition to win scholarship funding. The campaign achieved an average Click Through Rate (CTR) of 5.5% beating current industry benchmarks for campaign engagement levels. “Ghana has the highest mobile penetration rate in West Africa, and mobile technology plays an increasingly important role here,” says Dario Bianchi, Digital Transformation Lead at MTN Ghana. “As MTN works towards becoming a digital operator by 2023, it is extremely important that we partner with the best brands to bring our customers the right content, to enhance their digital experience and enable them to enjoy modern connected life. Out There Media is the perfect partner for this, combining its technology with our data and our reach to deliver impactful engaging, interactive and innovative mobile advertising campaigns for our subscribers. We’ve already seen the impressive outcomes of the technology and we’re excited to continue seeing similar results with campaigns in the future.” This announcement builds on OTM’s recent work with MTN Ghana which saw the operator join a humanitarian initiative led by Out There Impact (OTI), OTM’s impact division committed to using the power of mobile technology for the greater good. Together with several global mobile operators, OTM launched an educational mobile campaign on behalf of the World Health Organization to help contain the ongoing spread of COVID-19. To date, the campaign has reached almost 300 million global citizens via OTM’s global network of mobile operators, including MTN Ghana’s subscribers, making it the largest mobile messaging campaign in the fight against COVID-19 thus far. “Telco-driven deterministic data is the richest form of data one can get and we’ve seen firsthand how valuable it is in increasing the impact and reach of advertising campaigns and since we will soon be in a world without cookies, the value of this data is exponential,” says Donald Mokgale, CEO, OTM Africa. “Since this partnership means a mobile solution for a mobile-first continent, it completely enables the businesses, brands and agencies to target consumers at scale in ways that have not been possible before. We are all mobile subscribers before we are social media users and through this partnership, MTN Ghana is providing brands with an opportunity to go beyond traditional social media advertising channels, and to instead gain access to MTN Ghana’s captive audience.” The contract win with MTN Group, first announced in March 2019, will see OTM’s Mobucks technology rolled out across the 21 countries MTN Group operates in throughout the African continent. The launch in Ghana follows the already successful roll out of Mobucks in other MTN Opcos such as MTN South Africa and MTN Nigeria. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
No retreat, no surrender — Ablakwa chases gov’t for cost of Akufo-Addo’s private jet trips
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa has given strong indication that he will be relentless in his efforts at getting the necessary authorities to explain the travelling expenditure of the present, Nana Akufo-Addo. This follows a previous call for explanation into some GHS 2.8 million on his recent travels to only South Africa, Belgium and France using the services of a private jet. The Minister of Finance Ken Ofori Atta was requested to explain the costs related to the travels, and why the president had to engage in such travels at the expense of the struggling economic battles amidst covid 19. But in a surprising move, the Finance Minister told Parliament last week that he was not in the position to give details of the travels after he begged for more days to prepare the expenditure. According to him, the best person to be able to furnish the house with the travelling details of the president and its associated costs is the Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah. It is unclear whether the matter in contention is that of a security protocol or having to do with costs and financing, but the finance minister says the National Security Minister is the best man to answer questions related to the travels. According to him, since the travel of the president has national security implications, the air travel for the President, including the cost for the advance team, flight arrangements, security, accommodation, and air tickets, were coordinated between the Presidency and the National Security Secretariat. “Mr Speaker, the President’s domestic and international travels are matters to do with National Security. The National Security Minister is best placed to furnish this Honourable House with the details needed.” The Minister was responding to an urgent question filed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. In a Facebook post, the honourable Member of Parliament for North Tongu Okudzeto Ablakwa has indicated that no matter the machinations to dodge questions related to the travels of the president, he will not give up. “No Surrender; No Retreat; This question will be answered no matter how elaborate the machinations and no matter how thick the conspiracy,” he posted on his Facebook page. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has also filed an urgent question under Order 64 of Parliament’s Standing Orders for the National Security Minister to appear before the House to give details on the May travel expenditure of President Akufo-Addo. Source: Redeemer Buatsi Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Ghanaians are suffering due to Nana Addo’s mismanagement, not Covid – Ato Forson
A Ranking Member of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has bemoaned the state of Ghana’s economy which he says has led to extreme suffering among the Ghanaian populace. According to him, the poor state of the economy, which he described as the worst in recent memory, is a result of mismanagement by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government and not the Covid-19 pandemic as some had been misled to believe. Speaking on Monday, July 26, 2021, at an NDC Ranking Members forum dubbed ‘Policy Dialogue on the Economy’ at the UPSA Auditorium in Accra, the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam said the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government’s unrestrained borrowing as well as the budget deficit is responsible for this. “The main causes of the current hardships are the twin problems of the largest budget deficit (15.2%) in recent history, and a choking debt overhang that threatens the stability of the Ghanaian economy” he stated, adding that “…the hardships arising out of the deficit and debt situation is the direct result of mismanagement of the economy and misplaced populism by this government.” He cautioned that if the government does not pull the brakes on the current situation, the country will experience a decline in capital expenditure even as it spends more on interest servicing. He added that wages of public sector workers may not be increased and government will rather increase taxes, a situation he anticipated will be captured in the upcoming mid-year budget review. As part of his recommendations, Dr. Ato Forson maintained that the next 18 months will be crucial for Ghana, and therefore urged that the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government “must be bold to tell the Ghanaian Public the truth that the economy has been driven into a ditch and will require urgent fiscal measures to pull out of the ditch.” He warned that failure by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government to do as recommended, within the next 18 months, would expose Ghana to a High Risk of Default on its debt service obligations which will plunge the country into much deeper economic crisis. The data-based engagement brought together representatives from civil society, the media, academia, professional groups among others as part of the dialogue on the economy and government policies. —citinewsroom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
New Delta variant of COVID-19 hits 85 schools in Ashanti Region
The new Delta variant of COVID-19 is sweeping through schools in the Ashanti Region as Ghanaians let down their guards, according to health officials. Addressing the media on Monday 26 July 2021, the Ghana Health Service regional head Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang disclosed that at least 356 new cases have been recorded in 85 schools in the Ashanti Region. He said the development is as a result of blatant disregard for safety protocols on campus. He said a total of 1,135 active cases have been recorded in the region. Dr Tenkorang also warned that treatment centers will be overwhelmed if safety protocols are not enforced. Third wave Ghana appears to be undergoing an “alarming” third wave of coronavirus infections as a result of the highly transmissible Delta variant, President Akufo-Addo said on Sunday. “It appears that that, unfortunately, our nation is experiencing a third wave of COVID-19 infections”, Mr Akufo-Addo said while delivering his 26th address to the nation. The President said, the increase in infection rates in recent weeks, has led to a rise in hospitalisation and ICU bed uptakes, and in worst cases, deaths. He noted that the entire development is very alarming, especially as, “we are being told by officials of the Ghana Health Service, that the recovery rate is on the decline.” Data published by the Ghana Health Service suggest that as of July 23, the number of active cases stand at 4,521. The total case count is 101,170 with some 96,759 discharges/recoveries. “Our daily infection rate for the past week is three hundred and fifty (350) cases, and, sadly, forty (40) more people have died from COVID over the last ten (10) weeks, bringing the cumulative number of deaths to eight hundred and twenty-three (823) since the onset of the pandemic,” the President stressed. President Akufo-Addo is therefore urging Ghanaians is adhere strictly to the Covid-19 protocols, explaining that, the country, “cannot afford to return to the days of partial lockdowns, which brought considerable hardships and difficulties for all of us.” Daily Mail GH Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
‘We need unity, hard work to win 2024’ –Napo rallies Manhyia South NPP delegates
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has issued a rallying call for the party’s delegates in the Constituency to be hard working. According to him, the party’s strength, survival and continuous stay in political office hugely depends on the hard work of the NPP polling station executives. In this regard, Dr. Prempeh has admonished NPP polling station executives, to eschew all forms of rancour and backbiting and unite to champion the course of the party. “We are one big family with a common destiny so there is no need to fight among ourselves, we have to unite and work for the NPP to lead Ghana to the Promised Land”. Popularly known as ‘Napo’, the Manhyia South Lawmaker, who is also the Energy Minister, was speaking during the 2021 Manhyia South NPP annual Delegates Conference. According to him, the weird practice whereby the polling station executives renege on their duties and wait till election seasons to campaign was not helping the NPP. Napo stated that the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration has chalked landmark successes in political office so the party delegates should spread them. “We have chalked endless successes in political office so I am expecting you to preach about it and win more souls for the NPP to make election 2024 easier for us”, he said. The MP also strongly kicked against the ‘skirt and blouse’ voting practice, which he bemoaned “adversely affected the fortunes of the party in 2020”. Considering the landmark achievements of the Akufo-Addo’s government, he said the NPP was the bookmakers favourite to retain power and control parliament with more seats. “But that was not the case, we lost more seats because in some places some voted for the presidential candidate and refused to vote for the parliamentary candidate”, he said. Napo said the ‘skirt and blouse’ voting practice did great disservice to the NPP in 2020 so the party delegates should never allow it to return again in future elections. He said the government needs more seats in parliament so that its policies and programmes to accelerate national transformation could easily get parliamentary approval. The Manhyia South NPP Constituency Secretary, Haruna Alhassan, on his part, said the party is strong, healthy and poised to win avalanche of votes during election 2024. —DAILY MAIL GH Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Throw away ‘dangerous’, ’embarrassing’ anti-LGBTQ+ bill – Humanist Assoc.
The Humanist Association of Ghana has asked for the withdrawal of the bill seeking to criminalise LGBTQI+ sexuality and its advocacy in the country. The private members’ bill is being championed by eight members of parliament, namely; Sam George (MP, Ningo-Prampram) Della Sowah (MP, Kpando) Emmanuel Bedzrah (MP, Ho West) John Ntim Forjour (MP, Assin South) Alhassan Suhuyini (MP, Tamale North) Rita Sowah (MP, La Dadekotopon) Helen Ntoso (MP, Krachi West) Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor (MP, South Dayi) The 36-page document is to ensure proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values; proscribe LGBTQ+ and related activities; proscribe propaganda of, advocacy for or promotion of LGBTTQQIAAP+ and related activities; provide for the protection of and support for children, persons who are victims or accused of LGBTTQQIAAP+ and related activities. Among other things, the bill says people of the same sex who engage in sexual intercourse are “liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than seven hundred and fifty penalty units and not more than five thousand penalty units, or to a term of imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than five years or both.” It covers any person who “holds out as a lesbian, a gay, a transgender, a transsexual, a queer, a pansexual, an ally, a non-binary or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female.” Reacting to the content of the bill on Talk of the Nation on Class91.3FM on Monday, 26 July 2021, the Organising Secretary of The Humanist Association of Ghana, Ms Angela Adatsi, said the bill is an embarrassment to the country and a danger to free speech. She told show host Ewura Adams Karim that a “few days after I read the bill, I was in shock and I needed a few days to actually sit down and gather my thought about the whole bill because it is embarrassing”. “The entire bill is absolutely embarrassing that I feel embarrassed for the politician or MPs whose names are under that bill…the amount of embarrassment these lawmakers have brought to the country, I was in shock because not only does this bill criminalise advocacy or all members of the LGBT [community] but even against heterosexuals as well. You can’t even use sex toys when you’re having sex. It even criminalises free speech, which is a problem if you’re trying to build a democracy. This is a serious embarrassment for our country and for our democracy as well.” She noted that as humanists, they have a responsibility to support the LGBT community and ensure that “we advocate” their concerns “so that their plight will be heard”. “So, as an ally, I feel threatened”. “This bill seeks to criminalise all efforts by allies to support members of the community to actually talk and educate the public, so, this bill is really dangerous in every aspect and every capacity”. Asked if the humanists will make any input into the bill for consideration, Ms Adatsi said: “I think the bill should be thrown out”. “I don’t see any part of the bill that could be amended that could help the LGBT community in any way”. “In essence, I don’t even see why we need a law to criminalise LGBT activities. I don’t see why we need a law that polices two consenting adults and what they do in their bedroom, so, I don’t see the need for any law”. —classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Akufo-Addo gov’t alone added GHS180bn (60%) to Ghana’s public debt since independence – Ato Forson
Since independence in 1957 to date, the Akufo-Addo government alone has added GHS180 billon to Ghana’s total public debt during President Nana Akufo-Addo’s first term, former Deputy Minister of Finance Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has said. In a 43-page abridged presentation of more than a 100-page document, Dr Ato Forson said “within a space of four years, in dollars terms, the current NPP administration increased Ghana’s public debt by 50 per cent”. “In Akufo-Addo’s first term, he has increased Ghana’s public debt, in USD terms, by 50 per cent”, he told an audience at a forum on the economy ahead of the Finance Minister’s Mid-Year Budget Review. “In fact, if we are to look at it from the cedi perspective, then it means that President Akufo-Addo’s government added 60 per cent of Ghana’s public debt as of 31 December 2020”, stressing that of the “public debt that we had from Kwame Nkrumah to date, President Akufo-Addo’s government alone added 60 per cent”. According to the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee of parliament, within that same period, the Akufo-Addo government added 20 per cent to the country’s worsening debt-to-GDP ratio, which currently stands at 76.6 per cent. Ghana’s current public debt stock has risen to GHS332.4. The debt, which was GHS304.6 billion as of the end of the first quarter in 2021, shot up by GHS30 billion in April and May, according to data released by the Bank of Ghana. This translates into a debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of 76.6%. It is marginally higher than the debt-to-GDP ratio of 76.1% recorded at the end of 2020. The external debt rose from GH¢ 141 billion as of the end of March 2021 to GHS 161.5 billion – an increase of GHS 20 billion as of the end of May 2021. The external debt component made up 37.2% of the total value of the economy, which is projected to be about GHS 434 billion for 2021. The domestic debt component rose to GHS170.8 billion from the GHS163.6 billion figure of March 2021 – GHS 7 billion rise. It represents 39.4% of the projected GDP for 2021. It encapsulates the financial sector resolution bond of GHS15.2 billion as of May 2021. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently said “an economic recovery is underway” in Ghana, adding: “Growth is expected to rebound to 4.7 per cent in 2021 supported by a strong cocoa season and mining and services activity and inflation remaining within the Bank of Ghana target”. The current account deficit is projected to improve to 2.2 per cent of GDP, supported by a pick-up in oil prices, and gross international reserves are expected to remain stable. The 2021 budget, the IMF said, “envisages a fiscal deficit of 13.9 per cent of GDP in 2021, including energy and financial sector costs, and a gradual medium-term fiscal adjustment which would support a decline in public debt starting in 2024”. However, the IMF warned, “this outlook is subject to significant uncertainty, including from new pandemic waves and risks associated with large financing needs and increasing public debt”. Read the IMF’s full statement below: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2021 Article IV Consultation with Ghana FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Washington, DC – July 20, 2021: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Ghana on July 19, 2021. Ghana was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The government response helped contain the pandemic and support the economy, but at the cost of a record fiscal deficit. The economic outlook is improving, even though risks remain, including from the evolution of the pandemic and rising debt vulnerabilities. The pandemic had a severe impact on economic activity. Growth slowed to 0.4 per cent in 2020 from 6.5 per cent in 2019, food prices spiked, and poverty increased. The fiscal deficit including energy and financial sector costs worsened to 15.2 per cent of GDP, with a further 2.1 per cent of GDP in additional spending financed through the accumulation of domestic arrears. Public debt rose to 79 per cent of GDP. The current account deficit widened slightly to 3.1 per cent of GDP as the decline in oil exports was partially offset by higher gold prices, resilient remittances, and weaker imports. The Ghanaian cedi remained stable against the US dollar, partly due to central bank intervention, and gross international reserves remained at 3.2 months of imports. External and domestic financing conditions tightened considerably at the start of the pandemic, but have improved since, and Ghana successfully returned to international capital markets for a US$3 billion Eurobond issuance in March 2021. An economic recovery is underway. Growth is expected to rebound to 4.7 per cent in 2021, supported by a strong cocoa season and mining and services activity, and inflation remaining within the Bank of Ghana target. The current account deficit is projected to improve to 2.2 per cent of GDP, supported by a pickup in oil prices, and gross international reserves are expected to remain stable. The 2021 budget envisages a fiscal deficit of 13.9 per cent of GDP in 2021, including energy and financial sector costs, and a gradual medium-term fiscal adjustment which would support a decline in public debt starting in 2024. However, this outlook is subject to significant uncertainty, including from new pandemic waves and risks associated with large financing needs and increasing public debt. Executive Board Assessment Executive Directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal. They noted that the pandemic had a severe impact on Ghana’s economy, with slower growth, higher food prices, and increased poverty. Directors commended the Ghanaian authorities for their proactive response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which mitigated its economic impact, but contributed to a record fiscal deficit and increased public debt vulnerabilities. While there are encouraging signs of an economic recovery, they noted that it remains uneven across sectors. In this context, Directors stressed the importance of entrenching prudent macroeconomic policies, ensuring debt sustainability, and pressing ahead with structural reforms to deliver