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 Ghana commits to life-saving care for PLwHAs -GAC      

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Nsoatre,(Bono, Jan.31,GNA- Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim Bamilla, the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions Technical Coordinator for the Ghana AIDS Commission says Ghana is making a headway in HIV and Aids Control.

He says the progress made was a life-saving care for Persons Living with HIV and AIDS (PLwHAs),  
He explained that the “PLwHAs are not alone,” assuring that the GAC and the government were commitment to implementing realistic policies to stem the spread of the disease and care for PLwHAs. 
 
Mr Bambilla said this at a symposium organised by the GAC to commemorate the 2024 World AIDS Day, held at the Nsoatre Sacred Heart Senior High School in the Sunyani West Municipality of the Bono Region. 
 
It was on the theme, “Take the right path: Ending AIDS together, stepping up prevention efforts” and attended by about 1500 students and pupils to enlighten with accurate knowledge about HIV prevention, positive living and thereby foster healthy conversation. 
 
It was to help break HIV and AIDS stigmatisation and encourage critical thinking and innovation in addressing emerging challenges confronting the disease. 
 
Mr Bambilla said commitment was required in charting the right path in making the country an HIV and AIDS-free nation, saying that remained possible through intensified efforts on HIV and AIDS to control new infections. 
 
He underlined the need to strengthen collaboration across sectors, including education, health, community organizations and faith-based groups and to amplify awareness creation on HIV and AIDS. 
 
Mr Bambilla regretted that young people between 15 and 24 years were prone to contracting HIV and called for intensified public education on the disease among the youthful population to stem new infections. 
 
He said 95 percent of the PLwHAs were 15 years and above, saying 17,774 new HIV infections were recorded in 2023. 
 
The Reverend Sister Benedicta Uzokwe, the Headmistresses of the Sacred Heart Senior High School called for a decisive action and collective efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDs in the country. 
 
She cautioned young people to abstain from premarital sexual practices to protect themselves from infections. 
 
Mr James Ankomah, the Bono Regional School Health Education Program Coordinator commended the GAC for its restless efforts in stemming the spread of new infections. 

WAEC urges parents’ cooperation to expedite action on withheld results  

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Accra, Jan. 30, GNA- The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has called on parents, guardians, and candidates to cooperate with the council to expedite the processing of withheld results.  

In a statement issued by Mr. John K. Kapi, Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, the council refuted claims that candidates with withheld results were being coerced or intimidated into writing statements.  

The statement clarified that candidates were neither forced nor intimidated to provide written statements, as alleged by some parents.  

WAEC explained that as part of its investigation process, the council had completed its review of the candidates’ scripts and invited both the candidates and their parents or guardians to meet with selected staff members for a fair hearing.  

The council’s statement followed the release of provisional results for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) on December 30, 2024.   

WAEC noted that the Ghana Examinations Committee, during its 37th meeting, had approved the withholding of results for certain candidates due to their alleged involvement in examination malpractice.  

Reports from various media outlets indicated that candidates and their families have visited WAEC offices in Accra and Sunyani, among other locations, seeking clarification regarding the withheld results.  

VEEP calls for unified effort to eliminate intra-continental trade barriers  

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Accra, Jan 30, GNA – Ghana’s Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called on African leaders to coordinate efforts in eliminating barriers hindering intra-continental trade.  

“Removing these impediments is not just a moral imperative, it is an economic necessity,” she said at the opening of the 2025 Africa Prosperity Dialogues in Accra.   

The Vice President emphasized that for Africa to achieve its goal of a single market, prioritizing infrastructure development, including transport and digital technologies, was crucial  

“Without transportation and means of it, without energy, systems that connect our cities, our countries, our regions, without the movement of goods and services in guaranteed ways people might remain, or our homes might remain a challenge,” she said.  

Citing a World Bank report, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang noted that while Africa had made significant strides in eliminating infrastructure and trade barriers, interconnectedness remained a challenge.   

She further pointed out that power supply was one of the continent’s most pressing infrastructure gaps, with over 30 countries experiencing frequent power outages.  

Prof. Opoku-Agyeman called for stronger regional collaborations between governments and the private sector to address these issues, stating that “the time has come to forge stronger partnerships with the private sector. Working together, we can break these gaps and drive both growth and transformation.”  

“Since independence, Ghana has remained steadfast in its commitment to Africa’s integration and unity. Today, we continue to champion this cause by actively supporting initiatives such as the after which is headquarters here in Accra,” she said.  

Mr. Alex Apau Dadey, Executive Chairman of the KGL Group, Ghana, stressed the importance of leveraging public-private partnerships (PPPs) to address market fragmentation across the continent.  

Citing a successful example in Ghana, he noted that a PPP led to significant capital injection into the country’s lottery sector and resulted in annual government savings of GHS30 million through the automation of petroleum distribution in the fisheries sector.  

“Governments do not create wealth but the private sector. Therefore, there is the need to create an enabling environment for them to thrive,” Mr Dadey, said.  

AWLN Ghana Congratulates new Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection

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Accra, Jan 30, GNA-The African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) Ghana Chapter, has extended its warm congratulations to Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, on her Appointment as the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection.

“This remarkable achievement is a testament to her tireless advocacy for the rights of Women and Children, and commitment to social justice and we believe that her leadership skills and will bring great success to her tenure”.

In a statement signed by Dr Charity Binka, President of AWLN Ghana chapter it expressed confidence that her vision and dedication to the promotion of gender equality and inclusivity will drive positive change in the Ministry to improve the lives of many women, children, the vulnerable and marginalised.

Prior to engaging in politics, Dr. Agnes Lartey had worked to support women and advocated for their rights and continued to champion women’s empowerment and community development throughout her career.

Her efforts had made a significant impact on the lives of many women and children at the national and international space.

As the Member of Parliament for the Krowor Constituency, Dr Lartey, had implemented several initiatives to improve the lives of her constituents, including providing financial assistance to small business owners and skills training programmes for young people.

AWLN Ghana pledged to support her in achieving set goals to have a positive impact on the lives of women, children, and vulnerable populations in Ghana and wished her success to achieve greater heights for the ministry.

Mahama appoints Professor Kobby Mensah CEO of Ghana Tourism Development Company.

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President John Dramani Mahama has appointed Professor Kobby Mensah, an associate professor at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) as the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Development Company Limited. 


The Ghana Tourism Development Company Limited is to promote and mobilize resources for investment in tourism undertakings and services. 


Profile of Professor Kobby Mensah  
Professor Kobby Mensah is a leading expert in tourism marketing and an Associate Professor at the University of Ghana Business School. 


He is currently an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK, and a member of the Political Marketing Specialist Group (PMSG) coordinating the Ghana Political Marketing Group (Ghana PMG). 


He is a highly motivated, research-oriented academic who believes in evidence-led, hands-on, and collaborative teaching and research.   


He has a profound interest in the organisation and management of modern political and social institutions under the disciplines of political marketing and branding, and destination marketing and branding.  


Hence, he explores the world of political marketing and destination marketing, their development in Western democracies and how these paradigms are taking shape in Africa.  


His PhD thesis “Political Brand Management: Forms and Strategies in Modern Party Management” examined how branding has been operationalized in a competitive political marketplace and proposed the Political Brand Architecture (PBA) theory as a framework for managing party, candidate, and policy brands.  


Prof Mensah is equally interested in corporate marketing and branding research, as well as customer services management and employability in Ghana. The last two interests emerged from almost 10 years of working experience in customer services and his engagements in research supervision.

 
His competencies include general communications and campaign management, social media development and their conversion from on-line to on-the-ground engagement and measurement, media relations, event planning, and customer services team development and management.

Professional achievements include marketing campaign development, streamlining organizational procedures in line with corporate brand identity.  


His technology proficiency includes the use of most of the Microsoft applications, teaching and research applications and social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and Google. 

President Mahama appoints Professor Ransford Gyampo as CEO of Ghana Shippers Authority.

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President John Dramani Mahama has appointed Professor Ransford Gyampo, a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, as Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA). 


Prof Gyampo replaces Kwesi Baffour Sarpong, who was appointed in December 2024, under the erstwhile Akufo-Addo Administration. 
Profile of Professor Ransford Gyampo  


Born on March 31, 1977, Prof Gyampo is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for European Studies of the University of Ghana, with 14 years of teaching and research experience. 


Prof Gyampo holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Ghana and at Tufts University in Boston, United States. 


His research interest lies in Youth Empowerment and Development, Governance, Democracy, and Natural Resource Management. 


Until recently, he was a visiting scholar at the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of South Florida, United States.  


He currently serves as a Visiting Professor to the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. 


For 14 years, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Governance Unit of the Institute of Economic Affairs, leading several research projects and playing a key role in the Institute of Economic Affair’s (IEA) Socio-Economic and Governance Surveys. 


For 10 years, Prof Gyampo also served as Coordinator of the Ghana Political Parties Programme, a programme that brought together the leadership of Political Parties with representation in Ghana’s Parliament to discuss issues of national importance in a non-partisan manner and to propose practical solutions to them. 


He is a member of Ghana’s Electoral Reforms Committee and played a key role in identifying the challenges of Ghana’s electoral processes and submitting electoral reform proposals to the Electoral Commission for the purposes of fine-tuning Ghana’s electoral system. 


He is also a member of the Representation of the People’s Amendment Act (ROPAA) Consultative Committee, a committee set up by the Electoral Commission to research, consult and advise on the implementation of the law that mandates Ghanaians living abroad to vote in Ghanaian elections.

 
Prof Gyampo has more than 100 research works to his credit within his areas of research interest. 
These have been published in internationally refereed journals across the globe as Books, Book Chapters, Book Reviews, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles, Technical Reports, Monographs and Policy Briefs. 

Painter jailed three years for stealing laptop

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Accra, Jan. 30, GNA- A 25-year-old painter who stole a laptop from an office at La Kojo Sardine in Accra, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Appearing before an Circuit Court on Thursday, Kelvin Boateng pleaded guilty to unlawful entry and stealing.

The Court presided over by Mrs Christina Cann convicted Boateng on his own plea.

Boateng, however, broke down and cried as Police handcuffed him and escorted him out of the courtroom to commence his sentence.

Prosecution led by Chief Inspector Wisdom Alorwu said the complainant, Mc Dennis Appau, a graphic designer, resided at Kojo Sardine, suburb of La in Accra.

Chief Inspector Alorwu said Boateng also resided at Agbogboloshie.

Prosecution said December 31, 2024, at about 10:30 am, the complainant and a witness in the case were working in an office in La Kojo Sardine.

The Court heard that Boateng scaled the fence wall into the office premises and entered one of the offices where he took one HP Laptop computer.

On his way out, Prosecution said a witness in the case saw Boateng and raised the alarm.

Prosecution said Boateng bolted with the laptop and hid in a nearby uncompleted building.

According to the prosecutor, the complainant and other witnesses mounted a search and, in the process, found Boateng together with the laptop.

Prosecution said Boateng was nabbed and escorted to the Police Station for further investigations.

During interrogation, prosecution said Boateng admitted the offence.

Togbi Joachim Acholatse urges parents to perform responsibilities to benefit children

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Havedzi (VR), Jan. 30, GNA -Togbi Joachim Acolatse V, the Paramount Chief of Kedzi Traditional Area, in the Keta Municipality of the Volta region, has emphasised the crucial role parents play in shaping the future of children and urged them to take their responsibilities seriously.

He said parent’s actions always have a direct impact on the next generation and called for need to redouble their efforts.

Togbi Acolatse said parents had a moral obligation to provide for their children’s physical, emotional, and educational needs to help children grow into capable and responsible individuals who can contribute positively to society.

Togbi Acolatse made the appeal during a gathering organized by an NGO, Florence Mensah Foundation which donated sanitary pads to girl students at Havedzi, and urged parents to be up to the task and shape children for the future.

“Many children are often left to fend for themselves due to parental neglect and l want to remind all parents that their involvement in their children’s lives is essential for their development and well-being,” he said.

He said that parental responsibility is also in line with research that highlights the critical role parents play in shaping their children’s outcomes in future and children should not be left under the care of teachers alone.

Togbi Acolatse’ also underscored the importance of community involvement in supporting parents and children whilst appealing to various community members to work together to help create a supportive environment that enables children to thrive.

“Parents must be example to children by demonstrating positive values and behaviors, parents can help shape their children’s character and moral compass. You must not do certain things in the present of children,” he said.

He said that parents should serve as good models to children and should be ready to provide all the necessary items that would help shape children for a better future to prevent peer pressure and influence that could endanger them.

He said better education was the key to a successful future and all children should be made to acquire it and charged the government to initiate better education policies that would benefit and promote better progress for school children.

Togbi Acolatse, who is also “Dufia” of Kedzi, further commended Florence Mensah foundation (NGO) for the support to provide sanitary pad for young school girls to be used during menstrual period and appealed for other educative programmes that would benefit boys as well.

Some parents GNA spoke with during the gathering welcomed the call which was described as timely reminder of the critical role to play in shaping the future of children and thanked Togbi Joachim Acolatse for the gestures.

Government must avoid another debt restructuring – IEA

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Accra, Jan 31, GNA – The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a public policy think-tank, has cautioned the government against another debt restructuring by deliberately raising more revenue and being fiscally responsible.

The policy think-tank  said being prudent with expenditure would inspire investor confidence as the economy rebound amid the implementation of the IMF US$3 billion Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme.

The IEA said this in its bi-monthly Economic Outlook for November to December 2024, with the expectation that the 2025 Budget, would sustain macroeconomic stabilisation efforts in line with the IMF programme.

Ghana completed its domestic debt restructuring in February 2023, achieving about 85 per cent exchange and 98 per cent exchange on the country’s US$13 billion  external debt restructuring with Eurobond holders in October 2024.

“The 2025 budget is expected to conform generally to the programme. Moving along this path is necessary to avoid another painful debt restructuring, while engendering investor confidence in the economy.”

The Institute noted that the government’s intention to abolish the e-levy, COVID-19 tax, emissions tax and betting tax, would ease the burden on the few tax-paying households and businesses.

“The resulting loss in revenue is expected to be offset by reinforced efforts to plug the numerous tax loopholes, broaden the tax net and strengthen tax administration, among other measures,” it stated.

It, however, indicated that “resuming the debt service will put pressure on the budget and the exchange rate,” and called for measures to compensate the effects of the external debt repayment.

The policy think-tank said the 2025 budget should recognise the lack of fiscal space to support economic development due to limited Government revenue and take steps to increase the tax intake.

“It will be important also to recognise the potential of the natural resource sector to provide resources for development. Tapping this potential will require changes to the natural resource fiscal regimes towards increasing Ghanaian ownership and benefits,” the Institute said.

It also called for local value-addition to the country’s natural resources by giving priority to the processing and manufacturing sectors to increase revenues from that sector.

Meanwhile, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minister of Finance, has tasked the revenue mobilisation and expenditure agencies, to ensure a balance between increasing revenue and government spending.

He made this call during his first working visit to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Controller and Accountant-Generals Department (CAGD), last Thursday.

“As part of the IMF agreement, this year, we may have to do additional tax revenue of 0.6 per cent of GDP [Gross Domestic Product] … your work is to ensure that whatever we ask you to pay, you review it and if it meets your law,” he told the two agencies.

Working to stabilize the cedi and economy, MIIF shows the way-Research

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Accra, Jan 29, GNA-The MIIF in the past three years has grown to be arguably the most profitable state-owned organisation.

It is perhaps the most impactful, recording over 100 per cent in profits in 2023, increased its assets under management from US$180 Million in 2021 to circa US$1 Billion in 2024, supporting mining capacity building and increasing Ghana’s equity interests in mining.

According to a research conducted by Ghextractives MIIF whose investment policy guidelines allows it to trade in precious minerals as an alternative investment in 2024, aims to use the Trade Desk to improve the integration of the gold value chain including the proposed gold backed ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), supporting the stabilisation of the cedi, build gold reserves, optimise returns for the Fund and supporting the formalisation of the small scale mining sector.

USD$1.02 billion Dollars Revenue

MIIF gold trade through a revolving trade line of the cedi equivalent of US$30m to its approved aggregator was able to attract circa US$600 million dollars into the Ghanaian economy between October 2023 and September 2024 with other trade lines leading to revenue in excess of US$ 1.0 Billion.

The MIIF Trade Model

Our research reveals that MIIF through licensed aggregators and under an insured programme provides cedis to a licensed aggregator to purchase gold from licensed small-scale miners which is then exported to accredited LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) refineries.

According to same research, MIIF had two models covering its trade programme – the Gold for Forex and Gold for Oil.

The MIIF Gold for Forex Programme

The objective of this model was for MIIF to make margins on the USD with the added impact of supporting the cedi against volatility.

Contrary to allegations of missing US$90 Million cash, investigations revealed that MIIF in 2023 disbursed the cedi equivalent of $30m in 3 tranches of $10m each to its first aggregator Goldridge, which according to sources remains the only MIIF owned capital outlay.

This monthly revolving outlay returned a monthly average of circa $60 Million over a period of eleven months.

Based on the success of the programme, banks such as Fidelity approached MIIF with its own capital under a pre-settlement arrangement.

With this arrangement, the bank provides its own capital to plug into the MIIF trade with the objective of off taking dollars derived from the trade.

The Gold for Oil

MIIF participation in Government of Ghana’s Gold for Oil did not involve any capital outlay from MIIF. This second model of the MIIF Trade involved oil bulk distribution companies (BDCs) providing cedis to MIIF’s Trade Desk through the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributor (CBOD).

This generated forex of circa US$650 Million to support the payment of fuel supplies on behalf of BDCs between February 2024 to September 2024.

The forex delivered to the oil import market was however sub-Bloomberg mid-rate, thereby bringing stability to the cedi and supporting the purchase of oil prices at the pump as confirmed by the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors.

Forex Variance in September 2024

According to the MIIF press conference last year which had been much amplified recently, these fiscal gains however caused forex variances which affected their trade portfolio as local gold prices soared against lower Bank of Ghana prescribed rates for trading and the prevailing USD commercial rates at the time.

This created a forex variance of US$19.5m out of circa US$156m trade volume of Fidelity Bank’s capital with MIIF, and US$42m out of the $650m trade volume with the BDCs under the Gold for Oil Programme.

According to reports, the US$19.5m Fidelity variance has been fully remedied and circa US$29 million out of the BDC reported variance of US$42 million remedied through trade receipts.

According to reports, MIIF’s revolving initial capital of $30m provided to Goldridge in cedis was suspended in September 2024 due to the reported forex variance borne out of the prevailing commercial forex rate and the prescribed sub Bloomberg rate from Bank of Ghana.

It is estimated that, a further trading by Goldridge under the revolver can generate more than US$500 million per year.

It is estimated that, a further trading by Goldridge under the revolver can generate more than US$500 million per year.

It is instructive to note that, the MIIF gold trade was still ongoing with an expanded number of aggregators and with a projected foreign exchange inflow of US$ 3 Billion dollars in the next two years.

Trade, the future and proposed Ghana Gold Board

MIIF’s Trade has been hugely successful despite the forex variance in September 2024. It is however estimated that, following the turnover of US$30 million to generate over US$600 million, the trade structure provides an opportunity for Ghana to utilise such for the much-needed forex, the attendant formalisation impact on the small-scale mining sector and the economy as a whole.

The MIIF Trade Desk provides a blueprint for future trading programmes whether gold for oil or trading by the Government under Ghana’s proposed gold board.

The risk of foreign exchange variances are commonplace with commodity trading, but with the right monitoring, technology and hedging mechanisms a precious minerals trade programme can be Ghana’s game changer and MIIF has shown the way.

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