GH¢151 million released for contractors executing MBDA projects — MBDA
The government has released GH¢151million for payment to contractors who executed projects under the ‘One million dollar’ per constituency initiative, Mr. Joe Danquah, the Chief Executive Officer of the Middle Belt Development Authority (MBDA) has said. Established in 2017 by Act 962 of Parliament, the MBDA is implementing the government’s ‘One million dollar’ per constituency initiative and it exercises its mandate in 109 districts and municipalities in Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Ahafo and Eastern Regions. It is the main vehicle for spearheading the development of these regions. Mr. Danquah said the Authority had processed and forwarded Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) issued by the contractors to the Ministry of Finance, and assured the contractors all their monies would be paid by the close of the year. Speaking to Journalists during an inspection visit to some project sites in the Banda District of the Bono Region on Monday, Mr. Danquah said the payments would cover projects executed in all the 109 MBDA districts and municipalities in the country. Mr. Danquah explained monies had already been paid to some of the contractors to resume work on abandoned projects and therefore advised those contractors to do so or their contracts would be terminated. The Authority is executing projects comprising markets, classroom blocks, Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) Compounds, public toilets and several others spread across all the 109 districts and municipalities in the five regions, he said. Mr. Danquah said the Banda District alone had benefited from 38 projects, saying majority of them had been completed and inaugurated, and urged the beneficiary communities to take good care of them. He later inaugurated a two-unit modern Kindergarten (KG) block constructed at the cost of GH¢237,500,00.00 for the Sabiye Presbyterian Primary School, another GH¢150,000.00 two-unit KG block for the Bofie D/A Primary School and a 10-seater water closet toilet facility constructed for the Kanka community at the cost of GH¢120,000.00. At Kabrono Mr. Danquah inaugurated a three-unit classroom block, with office and store at the cost of GH¢237,500.00 for the local Presbyterian Primary School and Nana Sachameh II, the chief of the town, appealed for an Astro-turf pitch in the area. He also commended the government for the progress of work on the construction of the Menji-Nkwanta-Banda Road and expressed the hope the project would be completed to facilitate the movements of the people and their economic activities. Nana Duabatabour Ligbi Wulotie II, the Chief of Banda-Boase, also expressed appreciation to the MBDA and the government for the durbar grounds project constructed at the cost of GH¢500,000.00 in the area. He expressed concern about the deplorable nature of the Banda Boase main road and appealed to the government to reshape the stretch. Responding to the appeal, Mr. Danquah explained the government had awarded a contract for the second phase of the road project, and assured actual work on it would commence as soon as possible. GNA Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Man who killed pregnant wife arrested
The police in Kumasi have arrested 40-year-old Maxwell Boadi, who allegedly murdered his pregnant wife, Priscilla Owusu, 31, at Nyankyerenease, Kwadaso, a suburb of Kumasi on Saturday. Boadi was arrested at his hideout at Kodie, Kumasi, According to the police The police had been looking for him after he allegedly stabbed his wife, also known as Betty in the neck in the dead of the night Saturday and escaped. Betty, a mother of two, was said to be three months pregnant at the time of her murder. The police had retrieved a knife Boadi allegedly used to stab his wife and were on the lookout for him after his landlord claimed to have seen him escaping from the murder scene.
JUST IN: Controller suspends ‘No Ghana Card, No salary’ directive
The directive by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) for all public sector workers to register with the National Identification Authority (NIA) and obtain a Ghana Card or forfeit their salaries by December 1, 2021, has been put on hold. Instead, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has been tasked to port the names of public sector workers in their existing database onto the National Identification Authority (NIA) platform and thereafter, inform the various institutions of any unregistered staff that may exist. The latest decision was arrived at following a meeting by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Ministry of Finance, the CAGD, and the leadership of organized labor representing public sector workers on CAGD payroll Tuesday morning. More to follow … Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
FULL TEXT: NDC’s Press Conference on recent increase in fuel prices
STATEMENT DELIVERED BY THE NATIONAL COMMUNICATION OFFICER OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS, SAMMY GYAMFI ESQ., AT A PRESS CONFERENCE HELD AT THE PARTY’S HEADQUARTERS ON THE PERSISTENT INCREASE IN FUEL PRICES BY THE AKUFO-ADDO/BAWUMIA-NPP GOVERNMENT. Monday, 18th October, 2021 Good afternoon distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the media. It is my singular honour to welcome you on behalf of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to this press conference which is intended to address the high and unbearable cost of living that Ghanaians are experiencing under the watch of President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Bawumia, which has been largely been occasioned by steep increases in the prices of the Petroleum products over the last four (4) and half years. Permit me to state from the word go, that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-NPP government has shown itself to be callous and does not appear a give a hoot about the plight of Ghanaians. Otherwise, what can be the justification for the rampant and persistent increases in fuel prices we are witnessing in Ghana today. As you may be aware, Ghanaians have once again been slapped with another increase in pump prices of fuel by the insensitive and clueless Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration. Only yesterday, the price of diesel and petrol was increased by 7%. This is the ninth (9th) consecutive time in the year 2021 alone, that the prices of petroleum products have gone up. This has increased the price per gallon of diesel and petrol from about GHc21.00 as at January this year, to about GHc31.00 currently. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the rampant and persistent increase in the prices of fuel products we have witnessed under the watch of President Akufo-Addo and his deceptive Vice, Dr. Bawumia, are a direct product of their insensitive and bad leadership. The introduction of a raft of new draconian taxes on Petroleum products such as; the introduction of 20 pesewas Energy Sector Levy on every liter of diesel and petrol; the increase of 18 pesewas in ESLA per Kilogram of LPG; the introduction of a 10 pesewas sanitation (“borla”) tax on every liter of diesel and petrol; the introduction of a 1% COVID levy on NHIL & VAT, by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government, coupled with the free-fall of the Ghana Cedi which has been occasioned by their gross economic mismanagement, are the major factors responsible for the persistent and steep increase in the prices of fuel products. The introduction of these regressive and draconian taxes by a group of people who berated the erstwhile Mahama regime for “over-taxing” Ghanaians and a group who promised to move Ghana from taxation to production when elected, smacks of deception and insensitivity of monumental proportions. The cascading effect of these draconian tax measures, have among other things, led to an escalation in the prices of fuel products, transport fares, building materials, food products and other commodities on the market, without a commensurate increase in incomes, thereby making cost of living unbearable for the vast majority of Ghanaians. This is the cause of the excruciating economic hardships Ghanaians are currently experiencing. It will be recalled that a gallon of petrol and diesel was sold at about GHc16 in December, 2016 when the NDC/Mahama administration was leaving office. The NPP-led by their then Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and Vice Presidential Candidate, Dr. Bawumia, lambasted and berated President Mahama for this and promised to scrap some taxes on Petroleum products, particularly the Energy Sector Levies and the Special Petroleum Tax so as to significantly reduce the prices of fuel. I am sure you would recall how the NPP in their 2016 manifesto described ESLA as a nuisance tax and promised to scrap same when elected. Unfortunately, many Ghanaians, fell for these lies and voted for the NPP. Little did they know that this and other similar sugar-coated promises of the NPP were pure sophistry. Instead of scrapping the ESLA as promised, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-NPP government has collateralized it for a loan which has extended its intended duration from five (5) years to now fifteen (15) years, and increased it by over 20%. As if that was not enough, this government introduced a new Energy Sector Levy of 20 pesewas on every liter of diesel and petrol just this year. Additionally, they have introduced a sanitation (“borla”) tax of 10 pesewas on every liter of petrol and diesel. As a result of this and other increases in existing taxes on fuel such as; the increase of the BOST Margin from 3 pesewas to 9 pesewas per liter representing an increase of 200%; the increase in the Fuel Marking Margin from 3 pesewas to 5 pesewas representing an increase of 67%; and the increase in the Road Fund Levy from 41 pesewas to 46 pesewas, a gallon of petrol and diesel which was sold at about GHc16.00 in December 2016 is today is selling at about GHc31.00. This is almost double the price they berated NDC/Mahama administration for. It is therefore clear from the foregoing facts, that the high increase in the prices of fuel products we have experienced in recent time, is largely as a result of the many draconian taxes and tax increases this government has callously introduced on fuel. That is the major contributing factor. Friends from the media, this astronomical increment in the prices of fuel commodities by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and its concomitant effect on transport fares, have led to steep increases in general prices of goods and services thereby making life unbearable for the vast majority of Ghanaians. A cursory look at the Construction industry, with a focus on the prices of building materials reveals a very worrying trend that is of major concern to many Ghanaians. A 50kg bag of cement that was sold at GHc27.00 in the year 2016, is being sold at GHc52.00 and in some cases above this price today. A tonne of iron rods (16mm) that was sold at about GHc2,800 in 2016 is today going for GHc5,300, while a packet of aluminum
MTN Bright Scholarship beneficiaries graduate with flying colours
Three beneficiaries of the MTN Bright Scholarship, who pursued various degree programmes at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), have graduated with flying colours. Adinani Dikono, who pursued BSC Accounting and Finance, Solomon Ofori Kwafo, BSC Actuarial Science and Ebo Krampah, BSC Accounting and Finance all graduated with Second Class Upper during the 13th Congregation of the University in Accra. Solomon Ofori Kwafo made MTN Ghana proud by emerging as the Best Graduating Student of Actuarial Science. The three were among the first batch of 100 scholarships awarded in 2018 to students in public tertiary institutions. The three graduate beneficiaries of the scholarship programme thanked MTN Ghana for investing in their future and promised the telecom company board, management, and staff that they wouldn’t disappoint them. “Without the MTN’s scholarships, most of us would have deferred our courses due to financial difficulties,” they said. Adinani Dikono, who hails from a village in the Upper West Region, said he was fortunate to have had the support of MTN Ghana to complete his course. He appealed to the telecommunications giant to continue to help needy but brilliant students achieve their dreams in life. “I consider myself lucky coming from a village in the Upper West Region, and I believe a lot more people will need the help of MTN,” he added. MTN Bright Scholarship was initiated in 2018 to fulfil a commitment MTN made to Ghanaians during the commemoration of its 20th Anniversary in 2016. So far, 300 scholarships have been awarded to students in public tertiary institutions across the country for 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years. The Scholarship provides badly needed financial assistance to needy and brilliant students in public tertiary institutions. It covers the cost of tuition, accommodation, a stipend for books and other relevant reading materials for the entire duration of their studies. —myjoyonline Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Just In: Shocking News hits Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga
Information reaching Apexnewsgh.com has it that Hajia Boya Ayariga mother of the Bawku Central Member of Parliament (MP) Mahama Ayariga died this morning Tuesday 19, October,2021. Apexnewsgh.com reports Hajia Boya Ayariga was married to Abdulai Ayariga who happens to be Hon Mahama Ayariga father. Hajia Boya Ayariga before her death was blessed with 4 Children: Hon Mahama Ayariga (MP), Faisal Ayariga, Zeinab Ayariga Esq (Attorney General Office) and Osman Ayariga (former NUGS prez) Hajia Boya worked with controller and accountant department Upper East Region. Hajia Boya Ayariga is a daughter of Akhalipha a royal Mamprusi from Bawku Municipal. However, the information we also gathered from our source, has it that his son the Bawku MP Mahama Ayariga received the saddened news outside the country, hoping to rush down home for further arrangement. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
No gov’t mortgaged future of Ghanaian youth than NPP – Mahama
Former President John Dramani Mahama has accused the Akufo-Addo-led government of mortgaging the future of the youth of Ghana. According to Mr Mahama, no government in the history of the country has done so more than the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration. Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders of the NDC’s Volta regional arm, as part of his ‘Thank You’ of the region on Monday, 18 October 2021, the 2020 flagbearer of the main opposition party assured the youth that a future NDC government will invest more in the educational sector especially in technical education. He told the gathering that: “There’s no government that has mortgaged the future of the youth of this country more than NPP administration. Look at all the work we did, look at this Ho Technical University, take all the infrastructure here who built this infrastructure?” “The point is they can come and deceive our people and say: ‘You always vote for the NDC; what have they done for you?’ And I said: ‘There was no public university in this region. The highest you could get was HND [from] Ho Poly. If you wanted a degree, you had to leave the region and go to Cape Coast or Kumasi, or Accra, Legon or UDS.” Mr Mahama explained: “It was Prof Mills’ idea and he said every region must have a public university. Brong Ahafo doesn’t have, Volta region doesn’t have and so let’s build the university of health and allied sciences and I remember when he went and cut the sod it took some time for us to get the funding in place and they were cartooning him cutting sods with lizards and snakes and things. “Today, that university is the University of Allied Health and Sciences”. “Today, this institution is Ho Technical University and we didn’t even finish what we were doing..” The former Ghanaian leader noted that his government had plans to upgrade all technical universities and put in equipment and everything to make sure “we were giving a good technical education for all our people and we are not done with you. If NDC comes back into government, you’ll see the infrastructure development that will take place in this university.” —classfm Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Cape Coast airport commitment 100% – Akufo-Addo
President Nana Akufo-Addo has said his government’s “commitment to build the Cape Coast Airport is 100%”, adding: “Work is ongoing on it and I think very soon, just as we have seen in Wa, Ho and Sunyani, Cape Coast will also get its own airport.” The president reiterated his commitment to the project when he began his 2-day working tour of the Central Region on Monday, 18 October 2021. In the lead-up to the 2020 general elections, Vice-president Mahamadu Bawumia, while cataloguing some essential details of the governing New Patriotic Party’s manifesto, revealed that the next Akufo-Addo government will build the airport and a harbour in the capital of the Central Region. Dr Bawumia told NPP supporters at the manifesto launch in Cape Coast on Saturday, 22 August 2020 that an airport and harbour are crucial for such the region, since they attract a lot of tourists. “We will accelerate our investments in roads, railways and ports. And for the people of Cape Coast, I have good news for you: we are building a new harbour in Cape Coast and a new airport in Cape Coast”, Dr Bawumia announced. “It is very critical that we do that”, he said. An airport, he explained, “makes a lot of sense in Cape Coast”. “It’s a real tourism hub”, he added. “Between Greater Accra and Kumasi and Cape Coast, you have a triangle that is really a hub of economic activities”. “It is a major growth pole if we put an airport there to drive infrastructural growth”, he promised”, the Vice-president observed. —classfm Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
UER: Please, would you love to contest the next regional party executive election?– “It will be gross irresponsibility to want to run away”…Lawyer Anthony Anamoo
The Upper East Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Lawyer Anthony Anamoo has said, it will be gross irresponsibility to want to run away when he had set an aim and couldn’t achieve it. Apexnewsgh.com reports The Regional Chairman in an Exclusive interview told Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen of Apexnews Gh that even though he still has a lot of time left for his tenure in office to come to an end and is not time for campaigns, he believes it will be a gross irresponsibility to want to run away when his aim as a leader wasn’t met in 2020 election. Lawyer Anamoo’s response came after Apexnews Gh asked whether he will be contesting the regional chairmanship position in the next regional executive internal elections which are scheduled to take effect next year 2022. this was his response, even though he was not specific by giving a direct answer to the question, but your guess is as good as NABCO initiative. “Well, you know i still have more than 8 to 9 months to go and am still on the sit and you know, you don’t start campaigning when you still have a lot of work to do. We haven’t even started the polling station election. The polling we be elected, when they are elected, they will also elect the constituency and the constituency will come and elect us. So, we still have a long way to go and this is not the time to start campaigning. But of course, we set out to achieve an aim and if you didn’t achieve it, you can’t run away just like that. It will be gross irresponsibility to want to run away, when you still have to do your best. This kind of statement that we have 3 seats and we lost it, all is on my doorstep, of course, I was the chairman at a time and this is a region that is difficult for us”. He said Chairman Anamoo also revealed that in 2019, the party consulted researchers and lecturers from various institutions across the country to assist the party by way of identifying candidates and constituencies that will secure victory for the New Patriotic Party in the 2020 general elections and some party members decided to do otherwise, which he cannot prevent them as a party chairman. He sighted Navrongo and Temapne as an example. “Look at Navrongo, we had done some research and recommended the Late Kofi Adda to go unopposed now for other reasons somebody decides to contest him. Can you prevent the person from contesting? And the person contested and won but general election, it was a calamity. Can you blame us? Our research was composed of lecturers and those who matter. I did my best to save the situation. Look at Navrongo, 2 ministers, as for board member from there, Director General of Harbor is from Navrongo as for Board Members we can count up to 10. If you go Tampane, we have the Chief Executive of Zongo Development Fund, Ghana Ambassador to the Vatican, we have Deputy YEA Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive NDA, we have the candidate himself who was the Deputy Attorney General and the District Chief Executive (DCE) and we as Regional Executives even mobilized money and gave to them. So, if the seat is lost, will it be fair you put out the blame at the doorstep of the region. So, I keep on saying that sometimes, something happens which is not too good but then it enables you to do something better next time”. He pointed to Apexnews Gh. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093