NABCO: We didn’t assume we are going to reach this level and that is the most unfortunate part, very unfortunate-NABTAG PRESIDENT laments.
The National President for NABCO Trainees Association of Ghana Dennis Katakyie has cried out loud after not receiving his monthly stipend arrears for good solid 4 months. He said: “We didn’t assume we are going to reach this level and that is the most unfortunate part, very unfortunate”. Apexnewsgh.com report Dennis Katakyie was speaking in an interview conducted by ClassFm and monitored keenly by Apexnewsgh.com He said: ”If your son or Daughter seek for money to buy something and you tell him or her to wait you will give it to her, your ward will expect that you are going to give it to him within the shortest possible time but, when he or she sees that you are not giving, the next step will be taken and I think that is where we are now. So, hearing they are working on it, we didn’t assume we are going to reach this level and that is the most unfortunate part, very unfortunate. We are really frustrated and the hardship is too much and we have to voice out. “Nobody can take the advantages and the benefits this laudable programme or initiative has given us, for that one is true but at the end of the day, all that we say is that our welfare is still paramount. If there is something going on wrong, we need to come out and voice it out especially to the stakeholders, government and the authorities so that can make things easy for whatever we are seeking”. CLASS FM HOST Asked: “You keep saying things are hard, your members are frustrated, what is making things hard for them? “Well, we are not paid for 4 months, how can we manage we have family members and some of us we take a car before we get to our final destination to work and others too walk but even if you work, you need to eat. As I said, this Christmas we needed to buy some for the families you understand that? We have been in the system for 3 years and of course, we wish that we are able to do some big big necessities which of course we couldn’t see or witness that during this seasonal period, that means is hard without money you can’t make it”. “We have family members some of us imagine, am married with two kids without pay for 4 good months, how am I going to survive with my family and relative. So, if we say things are hard it should be understood”. Meanwhile, the ongoing predicaments of these NABCO beneficiaries are becoming worst as some of their members keep on dying without receiving their arrears from management. However, the unfortunate part according to them, is that no government official has knowledge of when their predicament will be resolved. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
NABCO: I am married with two kids, so if say things are hard it should be understood—NABTAG PRESIDENT
The National President for NABCO Trainees Association of Ghana Dennis Katakyie has cried out loud after not receiving his monthly stipend arrears for good solid 4 months. He said: “I am married with two kids, so if say things are hard it should be understood”. Apexnewsgh.com Report Dennis Katakyie was speaking in an interview conducted by ClassFm and monitored keenly by Apexnewsgh.com He said: ”If your son or Daughter seek for money to buy something and you tell him or her to wait you will give it to her, your ward will expect that you are going to give it to him within the shortest possible time but, when he or she sees that you are not giving, the next step will be taken and I think that is where we are now. So, hearing they are working on it, we didn’t assume we are going to reach this level and that is the most unfortunate part, very unfortunate. We are really frustrated and the hardship is too much and we have to voice out. He lamented “Nobody can take the advantages and the benefits this laudable programme or initiative has given us, for that one is true but at the end of the day, all that we say is that our welfare is still paramount. If there is something going on wrong, we need to come out and voice it out especially to the stakeholders, government and the authorities so that can make things easy for whatever we are seeking”. He stressed CLASS FM HOST: “You keep saying things are hard, your members are frustrated, what is making things hard for them? “Well, we are not paid for 4 months, how can we manage we have family members and some of us we take a car before we get to our final destination to work and others too walk but even if you work, you need to eat. As I said, this Christmas we needed to buy some for the families you understand that? We have been in the system for 3 years and of course, we wish that we are able to do some big big necessities which of course we couldn’t see or witness that during this seasonal period, that means is hard without money you can’t make it”. “We have family members some of us imagine, am married with two kids without pay for 4 good months, how am I going to survive with my family and relative. So, if we say things are hard it should be understood”. Meanwhile, the ongoing predicaments of these NABCO beneficiaries are becoming worst as some of their members keep on dying without receiving their arrears from management. However, the unfortunate part according to these starved beneficiaries, is that no government official has knowledge of when their predicament will be resolved. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Plug all nat’l switches into PAPSS to ensure speedy adoption, roll-out – Bawumia to Central Banks
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has called on Governors of African Central banks to facilitate the plugging-in of their switches into the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to speed up its roll-out across the continent to complement ongoing efforts to increase intra-African trade. Plugging into the PAPSS system would not only bring along all the banks under the control of the Central banks in one fell swoop, but would also be cheaper and less cumbersome than having individual banks negotiating access to PAPSS, Dr Bawumia emphasized. The Vice President made the call when he joined other political, financial and Fintech leaders from across the African continent in Accra for the commercial launch of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) on Thursday, January 13, 2022. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System is a cross-border, financialmarket infrastructure instantly connecting payment transactions across Africa, eliminating the need to route such payments through third party banks usually located outside the continent. Among others, it is designed to enable instant and secure payments between African banks, payment service providers and other financial market infrastructure; enable instant and near instant payments made by both originators and beneficiaries in their local currencies anywhere in Africa; and simplify the historical complexities and costs of making payments across Africa’s 54 different countries, 42 currencies and 4 exchange systems. Its roll out is expected to save banks on the continent some $5 billion in transaction fees. “Today’s commercial launch of the PAPSS is the result of many months of hard work, dedication, resolve, and an unwavering commitment to meet the set objective. I am pleased to note that the PAPSS has demonstrated credibility through its successful pilot and proof of concept in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), which provided the appropriate context – multi-lingual, multi-currency, multi-regulator, etc as anticipated in the larger African context. “The next step, and to me the next logical, critical step, is for African Central banks to ensure the plug-in of their national switches into PAPSS, to speed up its adoption and use across the continent. PAPSS’s continent-wide roll-out would be faster and more cost-effective if Central banks are plugged into the system, bringing along all the banks under their oversight, and ensuring uniformity in the use of this innovative system,” he emphasized. Another key innovation requiring urgent attention is the use of mobile technology to leap frog in regional payments, Dr Bawumia pointed out. “It is my understanding that through the Association of African Central Banks (AACB) Payment Systems Task Force and its working groups, work has commenced on collection of base fact on legal and regulatory frameworks of African payment systems. You need to quicken the pace on this effort and also ensure that all central banks are carried along during this critical phase of the implementation of a regional integrated payment platform,” he told officials of the Afreximbank and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), lead promoters of PAPSS. Vice President Bawumia expressed delight that after years of dedication and hard work, the vision of a tailor-made solution to an African problem had been found. “In my humble opinion, PAPSS is an African Solution to an African problem and it is the most practical and most important achievement in payment systems integration on the African continent since independence from colonial rule. “We as Africans should be very proud of this historic feat which demonstrates how the application of digital technology can solve many problems we are facing individually and collectively.” —classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
GNPC could have managed this much better–Alex Mould
The former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Alex Mould has posted in his Facebook account that the GNPC could have managed the current happening better by informing the select committee of Parliament. Below are the full details: I think GNPC could have managed this much better by informing the select committee of Parliament after the purchase was done in October exactly what the process was for the acquisition of the 7% from the Oxy sale of remaining Anardarko Africa-assets: – To make its bankruptcy removed from the remaining Anadarko African assets sold to Kosmos; and -How GNPC via Explorco intended taking over that SPV in Cayman Island set up by Oxy Secondly, they could’ve been very clear to Parliament about how they intended financing Explorco; – If government of Ghana was lending the money to Explorco then it will fall under the PRMA – If Explorco was raising the money through Notes sold to investors in the Capital markets , whom could include Ghana government, then my understanding is that it would not be governed by the PRMA All this could have been done by GNPC as soon as the transaction closed in October. It’s been 3months with no information shared All acquisitions are clear on which entity is buying and which is selling, and how the acquisition is being funded It was very clear from Kosmos It is not too clear in GNPC’s case Kosmos came out within a few days It’s been 3 months Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Good News: Ghana removed from list of high-risk third countries in money laundering activities–Prez
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced that Ghana formally been removed from the grey list of high-risk third countries in money laundering activities. According to President Akufo-Addo: “We are delighted that, on 7th January 2022, we received a notification from the European Commission, through the intermediary of the Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuinness, that Ghana, after the pursuit of some rigorous reforms, has now, formally, been removed from the Grey List of high-risk third countries in money laundering activities.” President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, revealed this on Thursday, 13th January 2022, when he addressed a joint press conference, at Jubilee House, with the visiting President of the Republic of Hungary, His Excellency János Áder, who is on a State Visit to Ghana. It will be recalled that, in 2016, Ghana was subjected to a Second Round of Mutual Evaluation by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in West Africa (GIABA). Though the round of mutual evaluation showed some progress over an earlier one in 2009, there were still significant gaps that needed to be addressed which led Ghana being placed under observation by the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG). Consequently, European Union added Ghana to its list of high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies in their Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, in October 2020, as a direct result of Ghana being on the FATF list. Over the last three years, an Inter-Ministerial Committee led by the Ministry of Finance had been hard at work coordinating key reforms to cure strategic AML/CFT deficiencies. Ghana-Hungary Relations Welcoming His Excellency János Áder to Ghana, President Akufo-Addo described the visit as a landmark one, “as it is the first time since the fall of communism that a President from Hungary is paying a State Visit to Ghana. We are honoured by your presence, Mr President.” According to President Akufo-Addo, “President Áder and I first had the opportunity of meeting on the sidelines of the R20 Austria World Summit, held in Vienna in May 2019, where we both pledged our commitment to exploring further areas of interest for the mutual benefit of our two countries. This visit reinforces our commitment to engage each other further to this end.” The bilateral discussions between the two leaders and their delegations centered on the expansion of relations in the sectors of trade, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, ICT, financial services, water management and environmental protection, with an agreement put in place for the commencement of meetings under the auspices of a Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC), which will serve as the platform for accelerating mutually beneficial co-operation between Ghana and Hungary. The President revealed that, soon, a number of key agreements will be signed between Ghana and Hungary, including the continuation of the Educational Exchange Programme, the mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and service passports between the Republic of Ghana and Hungary, the Memorandum of Understanding on Sports Co-operation between the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ghana, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hungary on Co-operation in the field of water management in Kumasi, and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the field of environmental protection and nature conservation.
Training for first set of journalists under MCEP ends in Kumasi
Training for the first set of journalists under the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme (MCEP) has ended. The capacity enhancement programme which is a weeklong intensive media training initiative sponsored by the Ministry of Information trained journalists on emerging issues in journalism enhanced their skills provided a platform to support media introspection on subjects related to media management, corporate governance, and media business models and encouraged ethical journalism. The Chairman of the Working Committee, Professor Kwemena Kwansah-Aidoo in a congratulatory statement issued on Thursday, January 13, 2022, congratulated the 60 journalists who participated in the maiden edition of the programme and challenged them to use the knowledge acquired to impact the country’s media landscape. “The Working Committee of the MCEP congratulates the first cohort of participants for engaging with a keen interest in the weeklong training modules aimed at sharpening their skills. The interest that was generated by your cohort during the training gives us the confidence that the programme is a worthy one. We encourage all participants to put the lessons to use and impact their communities with the ideas generated,” the statement said. The Chairman also expressed his appreciation to organizing partners of the programme namely the National Media Commission (NMC), the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the Ghana Independence Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), the Ministry of Information and Development Partners for the collaboration and support towards the organization of the maiden edition of the programme. He also encouraged all practising journalists who may be interested in benefiting from the programme to apply through the programme’s website (www.mcepghana.com) urging journalists to take advantage of this opportunity to add more value to themselves. —classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093